Cleveland Moves to Block Drug Campus of Care in Cobourg

(Today’s Northumberland file photo)

Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland is putting the brakes on any potential move to establish a Drug Campus of Care, HART Hub or similar drug rehabilitation facility within the Town of Cobourg.

Cleveland has tabled a Notice of Motion before Cobourg Council that calls for the municipality to publicly state that it does not support Cobourg being considered as a location for such a facility.

The motion is expected to generate considerable discussion, particularly as the October 2026 municipal election approaches.

Cleveland’s motion argues that Cobourg already carries a disproportionate share of Northumberland County’s social service infrastructure despite representing approximately 20,500 residents and having only one vote among the seven municipalities at County Council.

The motion points to the County’s emergency shelter at 310 Division Street, the overnight warming room, Community and Social Services and Housing Services offices, the Elgin Park redevelopment, planned affordable housing at 473 Ontario Street and County-owned lands at 699 Westwood Drive.

Cleveland argues that Cobourg has increasingly become the location for County social services without a broader County-wide policy determining how those services should be distributed among the seven municipalities.

The motion also raises concerns about the County’s purchase of 310 Division Street.

According to the motion, County Council discussed the purchase in closed session on November 15, 2023, with the purchase announced December 4, 2023. Community consultations followed between December 2023 and February 2024.

“The decision preceded the conversation,” the motion states.

Cleveland also points to a June 17, 2025 public town hall in Cobourg where 42 residents, business owners and stakeholders spoke over approximately four hours about the effects of social services on downtown Cobourg and surrounding neighbourhoods.

The following day, County Council directed the closure of the ground-floor warming and cooling hub and the transition of 310 Division Street to a higher-barrier model.

The motion describes that decision as “the County’s own corrective action” and says it demonstrates the impact Cobourg had absorbed.

A major component of Cleveland’s concerns is the possibility that County-owned property could be considered for a future facility.

The motion specifically identifies 699 Westwood Drive and calls for the County to publicly commit that it will not advocate for, apply for, or enter into an agreement with the Province of Ontario for a Drug Campus of Care, HART Hub or comparable provincially funded facility on County-owned or County-controlled land in Cobourg without first receiving a resolution of support from Cobourg Council.

Cleveland says the issue is particularly important ahead of the October 26, 2026 municipal election.

In comments provided to Today’s Northumberland, Cleveland made it clear that while he supports the concept of a treatment facility, he does not support one being located in Cobourg.

“It is important to note that a Mayoralty Candidate is promoting a (Drug) Campus of Care as a solution, which is admirable, but the individual never says where it should go in Northumberland,” Cleveland said.

He argued that a regional facility would potentially serve people from outside Northumberland County.

“Let’s be clear right from the start: what is being proposed is a Drug Campus of Care. Meaning addicts would need to be shipped in from across Ontario to make it both operationally and certainly fiscally viable,” Cleveland said.

“For me that makes it a real concern as it should for every single law-abiding tax paying citizen of Cobourg.”

Cleveland said he has spent the past three years fighting what he considers an unfair concentration of social service programs in Cobourg.

“For three years I fought against the previous regime at Northumberland County about unfairly burdening Cobourg’s residents with more social service plans and programming,” he said.

He also rejected the argument that because Cobourg is home to Northumberland’s hospital, other County services should consequently be concentrated in the municipality.

“The specious argument put forth by one of Northumberland’s lower tiers elected ‘Advocates’ is that for example the hospital is in Cobourg ergo all services must be,” Cleveland said.

“But what about say citizens in a health crisis in say Port Hope or Grafton or Colborne — do they not require the same hospital care and receive it accordingly.”

Cleveland stressed that his opposition is specifically to the location, rather than to treatment itself.

“I want to be very clear I 100% support my Mayoral rival’s suggestion of needing a drug campus of care as a real potential solution for rehabilitative treatment,” he said.

Cleveland said his experience working with the Community and Social Services sector has convinced him that a comprehensive approach can be effective for people dealing with complex needs.

“As someone who has worked closely with the CSSA, as a guest speaker, attending conferences, and as someone who helped local individuals as a downtown business owner, I know first-hand that a holistic approach is the best chance for a real solution for many individuals who have complex needs,” he said.

“But I do not support, not for a single second, ANY plans to locate a drug Campus of Care within Cobourg’s boundaries. County social services need to be just that, County Services.”

The motion calls for Northumberland County to develop a County-wide siting and distribution policy for social service facilities before another major facility is considered.

That policy, Cleveland argues, should include criteria surrounding the consent of the municipality that would host the facility.

The motion also calls for Cobourg Council to require an open Council meeting and at least one month of public consultation, including a town hall, before the Town itself could support any application for a Drug Campus of Care, HART Hub or provincially funded drug addiction treatment centre in Cobourg.

Cleveland’s comments also touched on a recent Northumberland United Way event and the organization’s decision to invite a speaker associated with the controversial Waterloo encampment ruling.

“I was deeply disappointed to see the Northumberland United Way inviting one of the individuals responsible for the ‘Waterloo Encampment’ ruling to be a guest speaker today at their ‘Community Matters’ event,” Cleveland said.

He described the ruling as “extremely concerning” and said he believes the majority of Cobourg residents oppose encampments.

“I would suggest to the NUW that if the ‘community’ truly matters to them, then hosting a fully one-sided speaker event is the wrong approach, because maybe there are others who disagree with their new political direction,” Cleveland said.

Cleveland also praised Cobourg Police Chief Chris Leather and Cobourg’s Director of Legislative Affairs Brent Larmer for a press conference held Tuesday, saying that “Enough is Enough” was the foundation of their message.

The Mayor’s motion asks that the resolution be sent to Northumberland County Council, all six other member municipalities, several provincial ministers, Northumberland—Peterborough South MPP David Piccini and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.

It also asks that the motion be published on the Town of Cobourg’s website and distributed to local media.

Perhaps most significantly, Cleveland is asking every person seeking the office of mayor in any Northumberland County municipality to publicly state their position on the issue before the October 26 election.

“The residents of Cobourg host the majority of this County’s social service infrastructure, contribute the largest share of its levy, and hold only one vote of seven at the Council that decides what services are built in Cobourg,” the motion states.

It asks every mayoral candidate to state publicly whether they would support Cleveland’s position if elected.

The motion also calls for a recorded vote by Cobourg Council.

The issue could become one of the most politically contentious municipal issues in Northumberland County heading into the October election, particularly if County-owned land in Cobourg is ultimately considered for a regional treatment or HART Hub facility.

For Cleveland, the central issue is not whether Northumberland needs more treatment and recovery services.

It is where those services should be located — and whether Cobourg residents should have a direct say before another major County social service facility is placed in their community.