Town of Cobourg ECE Licensing addresses community safety concerns and health and safety of individuals using emergency care facilities.

Cobourg, ON (August 1, 2024) – At the Wednesday, July 31, 2024, Special Council Meeting, Cobourg Municipal Council directed staff not to enter any formal agreement regarding the management of the 310 Division Street shelter.

On January 31, 2024, Council passed a motion directing Staff to conduct a review and legal consideration on the ability for Council to create and implement a licensing and/or a permit system for emergency shelters through a regulatory by-law and further, to work with Northumberland County and Transition House to establish an agreement with the municipality to address the management of the future low-barrier shelter at 310 Division Street.

Since January, the Town of Cobourg and County of Northumberland have participated in several engagements at both the staff and Council level. The agreement would outline key operational standards to ensure the new shelter meets the needs of vulnerable populations while addressing community concerns. However, it was noted that many of these standards, had already been considered through the Town of Cobourg Emergency Care Establishment By-law.

Following discussion by Council at Wednesday’s Special Meeting, it was agreed by Council that Cobourg’s Emergency Care Establishment Licensing By-law makes it unnecessary to have in place individual agreements with specific Emergency Care Establishment operators. Therefore, Council has directed staff to not enter into a formal agreement with the County of Northumberland regarding the management of the future low-barrier shelter at 310 Division Street.

“Cobourg is facing a housing shortage and the challenges that come with it,” says Mayor, Lucas Cleveland. “We enacted the Emergency Care Establishment By-law to address community safety concerns and to improve safety for people using emergency care facilities. Since our motion in January 2024, Council has witnessed the comprehensiveness of the Town of Cobourg ECE By-law. The By-law is reasonable and sets the same standards for health and safety across all shelters in Cobourg. Therefore, as a Council, we no longer feel an agreement for the 310 Division Street shelter is necessary.”

The Town of Cobourg is working hard to ensure that individuals that find themselves in crisis and require accommodation services from an Emergency Care Establishment, can reasonably expect that such ECE services meet basic health and safety standards of operation. The Emergency Care Establishment By-law takes a resident-centered approach to ensure that the needs of ECE residents are met and that the well-being of Cobourg residents more broadly is enhanced.

The Town of Cobourg believes that the needs of ECE residents should take priority and the ECEs should be required to meet stable, specific, identifiable standards of service for their residents. The current regulations that are in place under the Town of Cobourg Emergency Care Establishment By-law are Cobourg wide and do not solely address specific Emergency Care Establishments, but the licensing by-law regulates all Shelters in the same manner across the Town.

The Town of Cobourg Emergency Care Establishment By-law came into force and effect on Thursday, March 28, 2024. Since that time, Transition House, at its current location of 10 Chapel Street, has successfully applied and has been granted an ECE Licence by the Town of Cobourg Municipal Law Enforcement Department.

“The Town of Cobourg has always been a safe and caring community and we want to keep it that way – for everyone,” says Mayor, Lucas Cleveland. “The Government of Ontario already has rules to protect people living in long-term care facilities, but there’s no similar law to protect people experiencing homelessness. The Town of Cobourg looks forward to continued collaboration with Emergency Care Establishments across the community to enhance the health and safety of our residents.”

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Media Contacts
Kara Euale                                                           
Manager, Communications                                    
Town of Cobourg                                                  
p: 905-372-4301 x 4105                                         
e: keuale@cobourg.ca