Cobourg council must decide on future of police station, says board chair

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Cobourg police station

The show:

The full interview with bonus material:

Cobourg council recently received a report from the Police Service Board outlining the current conditions of the station on King Street. Complete with numerous images of the deficiencies, it calls into question the viability of the historic Armoury Building as a suitable space. In this interview, Cobourg Police Services chair Ron Kerr and Chief Paul VandeGraaf discuss the submission. While there are several options, it is clear that they are pushing for a new facility with a cost ranging from $30 to $35 million. However, the final decision will be up to the council. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, #Cobourg, Community, Police, Policing, Politics

Police review underway as politicians and residents grapple left to grapple with future

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OPP cruiser

The show:

The full interview with bonus material:

You will want to listen to today’s show if you care about your municipal taxes. The cost of policing is one of the largest expenses for municipalities in Northumberland County. It is one of the main drivers, but not the only one, behind a review underway at the county council. Meanwhile, the Cobourg council is facing a tough decision regarding a police station. Port Hope budgets are under strain, plus it has a mixed service for Ward 1 and 2. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Northumberland County, Police, Policing, Politics

New leader of Northumberland health team shares her experience and perspective

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Andrea Groff, Executive lead for the Ontario Health Team - Northumberland OHT-N

The full interview:

In the next two years, potentially 25,000 people living in Northumberland County could be without a doctor or some other form of primary care. That is a warning my guest delivered during this interview. Andrea Groff, Executive lead for the Ontario Health Team – Northumberland (OHT-N), says one-quarter of Ontarians will not have access to primary care by 2026. She is basing this on predictions from the Ontario College of Family Physicians. Groff was recently hired as the new lead for the health team. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Health, Northumberland County

Day of Mourning commemorates 20th anniversary of Westray Mine disaster legislation

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Northumberland Labour Council President Dan Tobin

The full interview

In 1996, 26 workers in the Westray mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, lost their lives. In 2004, after a lengthy battle, unions successfully lobbied the federal government to make corporations criminally liable for workplace deaths and injuries. This victory will be commemorated at the Day of Mourning event at Lucas Point Park in Cobourg this Sunday. While people still die on the job and more people are injured, it is not all bad news. In this interview with Dan Tobin, president of the Northumberland Labour Council, he will discuss the staggering numbers but also some of the good news surrounding occupational safety in the workplace. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Northumberland, Northumberland Labour Council, Politics, Social Justice

The future of unmarked burials discovered in Alderville, plus a path toward an Indigenous police force

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Workers with ground penetrating radar on Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan.

Across Canada, First Nations are using ground-penetrating radar to uncover the burials of children near residential schools. In 2021, Alderville conducted its radar probes on a site near the Alderville United Church (formerly Wesleyan Methodist) on Second Line Road. This is where an Industrial School existed in 1849 as a training centre for several First Nations in the region. Alderville Chief Taynar Simpson will update the situation related to the burials, along with several recent developments. He will review the history of the Industrial School and its relationship to the burials. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Conversations Towards Reconciliation, Alderville, Chief Taynar Simpson, Indigenous police force, unmarked burials