Tag: Provincial Politics

Should the Town Buy the Brookside property?

John Draper

At tonight’s regular Council meeting, Council received a memo from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee which recommended that Council “consider making an attempt to acquire the Brookside property as a community benefit”.  Although this memo was terse, it was triggered by a letter to the Committee by member Richard Pope who included more rationale as well as some suggested uses for the property.  It’s hard to know what the property might be sold for by the Province but at a cost of $40,000 per acre, the reported 70 acres would cost $2.8M.  (The $40k figure is based on recent sales at Lucas Point Industrial Park).  Since at least some of the land is described as being in a flood… Read complete articleShould the Town Buy the Brookside property?

Nicole Beatty Seeks Provincial Liberal Nomination

John Draper

Cobourg Councillor Nicole Beatty today announced that she will seek the nomination of the Liberal party as its candidate for Northumberland Peterborough South in the June 2022 Provincial election. The MPP currently in the riding is Conservative David Piccini – at the last election he was opposed by Liberal candidate Loui Rinaldi who had held the seat off and on since 2007 and I’d guess he won’t want to run again. In the last Municipal election, Nicole received the most votes and has been quite active in her role as Councillor so looks like a strong candidate. The next Council election will be October 2022 so if she wins the nomination and wins the Provincial vote, she would be leaving… Read complete articleNicole Beatty Seeks Provincial Liberal Nomination

Brookside has Closed

John Draper

Last Summer, Councillor Nicole Beatty moved a motion that was passed by Council to ask the Province for a report on what was happening at Brookside Youth centre at 390 King Street East. She was not the only one concerned.  Many people have asked MPP David Piccini the same question since it was no secret that occupancy was dropping.  As Mayor Henderson said at today’s Zoom announcement, in 2014 the Auditor General asked about the low occupancy and in fact occupancy at the facility has dropped 81% since 2004/05.  So now the Province has acted and today the facility was closed and the youth were re-assigned.  All staff will be able to continue working for the Provincial Government although not… Read complete articleBrookside has Closed

Provincial Grants Help Local Non-Profits

John Draper

The pandemic is hurting businesses and individual workers and to date Governments have to some degree provided relief for them. Now, the Province has announced significant help for local non-profit organizations that are hurting. MPP David Piccini announced that six local non-profit organizations will receive a total of $555K. They include four Arts organizations, one sports club in Oshawa and Cornerstone which provides shelter to women suffering domestic violence. The amounts are significant and are welcomed by the affected groups. In making the announcement MPP Piccini said “Non-profit organizations are a crucial and valued part of any community. These organizations enrich the lives of people in our communities, while playing an important role in building a strong and prosperous Ontario… Read complete articleProvincial Grants Help Local Non-Profits

Provincial Grant supports Police CCTV expansion

John Draper

D’Arcy street was closed around noon on Friday while an announcement was made outside the Venture 13 facility.  The Provincial Government announced a grant of $200,000 to Cobourg Police to implement CCTV for their “Next Generation Community Safety Strategy”.  The grant covers 50% of the cost of the project which will integrate CCTV cameras installed by the Town and private businesses plus some new ones.  The location of some of the new ones will not be disclosed.  The idea is to improve public safety since if criminals know they will be caught, they are less likely to offend.  The announcement was made by Solicitor General Sylvia Jones with supporting remarks by Mayor John Henderson, MPP David Piccini, Police Services Board… Read complete articleProvincial Grant supports Police CCTV expansion

Province and Feds Help Fund Transit

John Draper

People ask why do we have full size buses and not small ones or even ones like those used in Okotoks?  (See link below to earlier article). Well I don’t have an answer but if spending Council money is the problem, then the Federal and Provincial Governments are helping big time to buy replacements for existing fleets.  Today, MPP David Piccini announced the support being provided to Cobourg and Port Hope via the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.  Cobourg’s 2020 budget included $160K (contingent on a grant) to replace a Wheels bus, $230K in 2021 for one regular bus and $460K in 2022 to replace two more regular buses – total $850K.  The grants for Cobourg are $496,182 from the… Read complete articleProvince and Feds Help Fund Transit

Ed’s House – Official Opening

John Draper

On Thursday, September 3, Northumberland’s Hospice (Ed’s House) was officially opened by Minister of Health and Deputy Premier Christine Elliott.  There were about 70 people gathered outside the new building on Ontario Street to witness the event.  As well as capital to build the facility, operating costs are ongoing and the Province has committed to pay this for the six new beds – Christine said that the Government is expanding palliative care. As well as the Minister, many who had helped make it happen were also there – see list below.  Hamilton Mayor Bill Cane commented that this was “an amazing collaborative effort”. All speakers at the event thanked the team who made it happen: Fundraising was better than goal… Read complete articleEd’s House – Official Opening

Affordable Housing gets Funding

John Draper

For some time, the County has been planning an expansion of affordable housing at their Elgin Park development and on Thursday July 23, $5.7M funding for it was announced through the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) – that’s a joint Federal/Provincial initiative.  The announcement was made by Steve Clark, (Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs & Housing) and Adam Vaughan (Federal MP & Parliamentary Secretary) – see photos below.  There are currently 18 units at the development in 9 duplexes and when complete there will be 40 units in 8 two storey buildings of 4 plexes and 6 plexes including a shared green space with a playground and recreational area.  The new money will fund 28 of the new units, all… Read complete articleAffordable Housing gets Funding