09/04/2026
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.
This week, a woman visiting Victoria Beach with her family stepped on a discarded needle.
She now faces medical treatment, follow-up testing and uncertainty that no resident or visitor should ever have to experience simply because they went to the beach.
Our thoughts are with her and her family.
But IHARC also has a responsibility to say something uncomfortable:
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻.
On April 27, IHARC directly contacted Cobourg’s political leadership, including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, about public safety concerns at Victoria Park and the waterfront. That outreach followed yet another discovery of fentanyl and discarded drug paraphernalia in the area.
To be clear, this was not simply a warning. We have learned that politicians should never be presented with a problem without also being presented with a solution. IHARC did that.
Despite that, we received no substantive response.
Those concerns were a major reason IHARC maintained such a visible presence in Victoria Park.
We walked the area. We monitored locations where discarded paraphernalia had previously been found. We removed hazards when we encountered them. And we paid attention to what was happening on the ground.
It wasn’t glamorous work. But it mattered.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁.
But that cannot become the long-term answer either.
We should never reach the point where routinely searching a public beach for discarded needles is considered normal.
Finding and removing a needle before someone steps on it can prevent an immediate injury. But by the time that needle is lying in the sand, several other parts of the system have already failed.
𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
IHARC has always taken a balanced position on public safety.
When people commit crimes, there must be accountability. Drug trafficking, violence, theft and other criminal behaviour cannot simply be ignored because addiction or homelessness may also be involved.
But enforcement cannot address every consequence of addiction in our public spaces.
Police can arrest someone trafficking drugs.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱.
That is where prevention and practical intervention matter.
It means identifying problems early, addressing criminal activity where it occurs, intervening with people who need help, and protecting the public from immediate hazards while the larger problems are addressed.
That is the balanced response IHARC has consistently advocated for.
We raised these concerns in April. We offered solutions. No meaningful response followed.
Now someone has been injured.
IHARC cannot honestly claim that our presence would have guaranteed this particular needle was found.
But we can say this with certainty:
𝗪𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸. 𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸.
Public safety should not be ideological.
We should not have to choose between holding people accountable, helping people who need help, and keeping public spaces safe.
A functioning community does all three.
And we should never accept a future where parents have to wonder whether their child can safely run barefoot across Victoria Beach.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹.
P.S: We’ve been quiet for a while, but the work hasn’t stopped.
Behind the scenes, we’ve been working to make IHARC stronger and more sustainable, while developing some new ways to expand the work we’ve always believed in.
There’s a lot we haven’t shared yet.
We will soon.
