Category: News 2018

Federal Government contributes to Armistice 18

John Draper

MP Kim Rudd today announced that Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program that is operated by the Veteran’s Affairs Department is granting Cobourg $10,000 for its Armistice 18 program.  Kim commended Cobourg for its efforts although she did not mention the criticism leveled at the Federal Government in a recent McLeans article (see link below).  The same article also commended Cobourg:  “Cobourg, a town of 20,000 on Lake Ontario, is currently putting the rest of the country to shame in recognizing one of the most significant events in our nation’s past. In fact, it’s doing more to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War than the entire federal government.” But Kim did manage to get the money… Read complete articleFederal Government contributes to Armistice 18

CTA Asks Town for Better Budgets

John Draper

Not everyone supports the Cobourg Taxpayers Association (CTA) but most would support their statement that the “operating budget and capital budget process is the single most important responsibility that Council has”.  In a recent newsletter to those on their mailing list, the CTA asked that the new Council make several specific improvements to budget preparation and reporting.  Although they did not spell it out, the new council will have a new Deputy Mayor (Suzanne Séguin) and since the Deputy Mayor is responsible for organizing the budget process, there will be a fresh opportunity to do it differently.  The outgoing Deputy Mayor, John Henderson, made some incremental improvements – slightly faster and more transparent – but the CTA is asking for… Read complete articleCTA Asks Town for Better Budgets

Scheduling Problem with Cobourg’s Entertainment

John Draper

Cobourg does not lack for entertainment events but many events are scheduled for the same day and even the same time.  A good example was this past Sunday (November 4) when there were nine events by my count.  There were five live shows, two speakers, an Art Show and a walking tour.  But the following Sunday has very few events – although that may be because it’s Nov 11.  You’d think that some of the people organizing the shows would talk to each other.  Some years ago, the (now defunct) Arts Council of Northumberland tried to resolve the issue but gave up for lack of cooperation from enough of the arts organizations.  Below is a review of the events on… Read complete articleScheduling Problem with Cobourg’s Entertainment

Cobourg’s Downtown Restaurants

John Draper

There are a lot of restaurants in Cobourg with a large concentration downtown. Today I walked along King street from Hibernia to Victoria Park and counted 18 restaurants although that did include some that would be better described as coffee shops. There are also at least another 6 nearby.  Some are new and some are up for sale – a new addition is the Taste of Agra, an Indian restaurant which occupies the space formerly used by the Golden Chopsticks which moved a few doors along.  I have listed them all below. The building housing the Matterhorn has now been listed for $899K with the statement that the restaurant is owner operated. I take this to mean that the current… Read complete articleCobourg’s Downtown Restaurants

Robbery at Mac’s Milk

John Draper

This morning (Thursday Nov 1) at approx. 7:20 am, Cobourg Police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Mac’s Milk opposite the Police Station at 122 King Street West.  It seems a white male indicated he had a gun although he didn’t show it.  He also wore what appears to be a white Halloween mask over his face.  The Police report says that he left with a quantity of cigarettes and that the employee sustained minor injuries. The Police have a poor quality image of the suspect plus a video of a “person of interest”.  They are looking for help from the public – the suspect is described as: Male White, 25-35 years, 5’10 to 6’ tall,… Read complete articleRobbery at Mac’s Milk

Conservative Candidate for Federal Election Campaigns in Cobourg

John Draper

Last week saw Kim Rudd acclaimed as Liberal candidate with Trudeau lending support but the meet and greet by Philip Lawrence on Sunday was a much lower profile event.  For a start, the Conservatives have not yet announced a date for their nomination meeting although there are four Candidates who have said they will seek the nomination.  Philip had an open house at 99 King West (Cobourg) and had some Conservative supporters drop in for a chat.  When asked what sets him apart from the other candidates, Philip pointed to his private industry experience plus his longer recent residence in the Riding.  He’s a lawyer but works for Sun-Life – not in his own practice.  Six years ago he chose… Read complete articleConservative Candidate for Federal Election Campaigns in Cobourg

Police Business Services Announcement

John Draper

The previous Liberal government passed new legislation, Bill 113: Police Record Checks Reform Act, which will come into effect on November 1, 2018.  It improves privacy for individuals but included a provision that made the process onerous.  The required red tape would have meant that businesses doing record checks would move out of Ontario or shut down.  Most applicants self-declare their convictions (or lack thereof) and consent to the check when applying but before the change, and after the check was done, they would have needed to consent again to full details being released.  Now the report will just verify their declaration (or otherwise) and no second consent is required.  Other jurisdictions do not have the same convoluted requirements. The… Read complete articlePolice Business Services Announcement

Police Board’s Town Hall Meeting

John Draper

Cobourg’s Police Board invited the media and public to their meeting on 25 October which was held in their conference room on the second floor of the Venture 13 building.  They presented details of their Business Plan and the results of the recent Arbitration of their collective Agreement with unionized employees.  Multiple speakers presented highlights but emphasized that they are delivering on what they promised and that they are mandated by the Police Act to be engaged with the community and focus on crime prevention as well as enforcement.  To do this cost effectively, the Cobourg Police Service are using Auxiliary and Special Constables to do work that does not require sworn officers.  As a result, although there has been… Read complete articlePolice Board’s Town Hall Meeting

Port Hope’s Capitol to be “restructured”

John Draper

Cobourg has Victoria Hall, the Loft Cinema, the Firehall theatre and Trinity Church as venues for theatre but Port Hope’s Capitol is known for its impressive productions and prolific entertainment events.  Five years ago, Antonio Sarmiento moved from the now dormant Park Theatre to the Capitol and did a great job in boosting the quality and annual income of productions there.  Antonio’s job was to be both the Managing Director and Artistic Director but the Capitol’s board had Soulpepper’s former executive director Leslie Lester do a “third-party assessment of its five-year strategic plan”.  As a result, they have apparently decided to split Antonio’s job into two:  Managing Director and Artistic Director.  With this decision, Antonio submitted his resignation effective December… Read complete articlePort Hope’s Capitol to be “restructured”

Municipal Election Results

John Draper

Cobourg’s Election results were announced at an event staged in the Concert hall at Victoria Hall. Perhaps 60 people were there – including some staff, the election workers, candidates and citizens.  Results arrived at around 8:45 – all at once except for School Trustee results since tabulation was electronic.  See the table below for the vote numbers.  Cogeco was set up in the hall and were able to announce results as soon as anyone.  Since there were no polls – at least not as far as I know – it’s not realistic to say there were surprises.  However, given that a number of people (mostly women) said they were going to vote for all the women, it was surprising that… Read complete articleMunicipal Election Results