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Push for national drug plan needed

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By Robert Washburn

Creating a national drug plan is in the news these days following the release of a major study in the Canadian Medical Journal this week saying it is affordable and doable. It was also one of many subjects raised at a recent public meeting talking about local healthcare issues held in Port Hope. It is not complex. People would be charged $2 to get a prescription filled anywhere in Canada ($10 if it was a brand-name). It would also establish a national formulary of eligible drugs. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Columns, Health, Politics

It is our hospital, not the LHIN’s

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By Robert Washburn

People will drive up to Northumberland Hills Hospital one day to find the windows shuttered and the doors locked and then it will be too late to complain about the future of our hospital, an angry senior said quietly under his breath the other day in conversation. It is a depressing prediction. But, it is not true. Yet. The state of local healthcare was the subject of a public forum held at Carpenter’s District Council union hall on Croft Street in Port Hope Saturday. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Columns, Health

Horizons hurt if funding fails

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By Robert Washburn

With nearly half its funding from the federal government on the line, a local international aid group is keeping its fingers crossed and the people they serve are hanging in the balance. Horizons of Friendship’s $2-million budget could be seriously hurt if the Department of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Development fails to fund a critical proposal. The plan is to improve local health care to more than 235,000 people in Totonicapán, Guatemala, one of the areas with the highest number of indigenous people in the country. It is one of the least violent places and suffers from extreme poverty with up to 82 per cent of the residents being malnourished. There was also a plan to engage 8,700 Canadians in the project through professional-development exchanges and public activities. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Columns, Politics

Time for needs assessment on all development proposals

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By Robert Washburn

A proposed $10 million medical arts building adjacent to the hospital is a wonderful idea on the surface. But, what will it mean in terms of vacant space once it is completed? Currently, there are five health centres or medical buildings listed on the town’s website, including ones on University Avenue, Burnham Street, and Queen Street. The largest white elephant is the King Street Medical Centre across from Cobourg Collegiate Institute, which has sat mostly empty since it was first built in the early 2000’s. It was even proposed as a possible site for a new police station back in 2005, things got so desperate. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Columns, Politics

Expect backlash after downtown cameras installed

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By Robert Washburn

Privacy is dying on the streets of West Northumberland

The installation of additional closed-circuit cameras in Cobourg’s downtown core was announced last week

Two more cameras were added, one at the intersections of King and Division streets, along with another at King and George streets. Two already exist: one along the beach boardwalk and another on Swayne Street. Each costs between $10,000 and $12,000, but is paid for by the provincial government under the Civil Remedies Grant and money generated by the police service for doing background checks. The police force is doing its best to show off the system in a positive light, of course. This is despite the fact the cameras were not working during a rash of break-in during July. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Columns, Politics

Hidden homelessness should be election issue

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By Robert Washburn

Homelessness was given a face in the local media last week as residents were reminded about the people who don’t have a place to live in Northumberland County. Green Wood Coalition director David Sheffield, an outreach worker in Port Hope, has said many times, there is no way to understand fully the scope of the problem in the county because there are not even the statistics to paint a realistic picture. A huge part of the problem is there is insufficient data; but, there are efforts underway to begin to gather those figures, he said in an interview done in July. Sheffield addressed the issue when the study titled Housing First in Rural Canada: rural homelessness and Housing First Feasibility across 22 Canadian communities was released on July 9. The report delivers a stark picture of homelessness outside the country’s largest cities. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Columns

It’s all about the local economy, silly

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By Robert Washburn

There is only one issue in the upcoming municipal election: the local economy. Sure, across Northumberland each municipality has its own set of issues to be addressed by incumbents and challengers seeking office. But the new rural economy is facing a complex future. Globalization crushed the traditional manufacturing base. Agriculture is vastly different. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Columns, Economy, Politics

Sustainability is critical to economic outlook

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By Robert Washburn

If the local economy is the central issue for the fall municipal election, then sustainability must right up there along with it. Sustainability is often a term used when discussing environmental issues, but that is a limited interpretation. Sustainability, in this case, is referring to a vision of municipal governance where decisions are made within the context of medium and long-term goals, which meet the needs of citizens, but also provide the opportunity for the area to flourish over time. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Columns, Economy