By Cecilia Nasmith Northumberland 89.7 FM
With one or two possible exceptions, Cobourg councillors present at Wednesday’s council meeting indicated they will not be attending the Nov. 7 Homelessness 101 session hosted by the Northumberland Inter-Municipal Task Force on Housing and Homelessness.
Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty and Councillor Adam Bureau are Cobourg’s representative on this body though, at the meeting, Beatty said her attendance had been spotty of late and Bureau announced his intention of stepping down from the task force.
Carefully worded debate referred to legal considerations in scenarios where councillors did and did not attend, but Councillor Brian Darling pointed out that the evening of Nov. 7 is when Cobourg Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf will be hosting a town-hall meeting – and Homelessness 101 runs from 6 to 8 p.m.
“A coincidence, I’m sure,” said Mayor Lucas Cleveland, saying he had committed to speaking at the police event.
Beatty expressed her understanding that the Homelessness 101 planning had begun (including the choice of date) last month, while the police event had been announced more recently.
“I respectfully disagree,” Cleveland said.
Editor’s Note: Today’s Northumberland reached out for confirmation of timelines for the Homelessness 101 session and received documentation confirming the event was planned at the end of September with invitations circulated on October 8.
