By Jennifer Irving
Area residents outraged by Corrections Canada’s refusal to relocate a parole office located across the street from Elgin Street Public School will not give up until it’s gone.
Albert Galpin has three children enrolled at the elementary school and as a concerned citizen feels community safety was overlooked when Corrections Canada opened a parole office at 191 Gilmour St.
“It is quite obvious that they (Corrections Canada) tried to sneak this into our neighbourhood,” says Galpin.
“There was no public consultation and no written risk assessment. Iit’s just an outrage,” he fumed.
Ana Paquette, district director of Corrections Canada, reiterated there are no plans to move the office.
“I really don’t think that this community is put at risk,” Paquette says.
“There is a fear out there, whether it’s a perceived or a real threat, it’s still there.”
There is only an average of six parolees per day that come into the office, she says, 75 per cent of whom already live in the community.
“You will never see line ups or a crowded waiting room like you would at a doctor’s office. The majority of offenders are met by officers at their place of employment,” she says.
Michelle Pilon-Santilli agrees with Paquette, pointing out that there is a police station and a court house on both ends of the street, as well as five halfway houses in the Centretown area.
“More offenders are visiting these buildings than the parole office on Gilmour Street,” she says.
Still, residents remain concerned about the safety of the community, and in particular the safety of the children attending Elgin Street Public School.
“I have three children attending Elgin Street Public School and one who just graduated. They are no longer allowed to walk on their own to school,” says Galpin.
Several community leaders have sent letters to Public Works Minister Scott Brison to request another location for the office, preferably one in the downtown core.
These letters have since been passed on to Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan. Corrections Canada falls under her jurisdiction.
Ed Broadbent, MP for Ottawa Centre, sent a letter to McLellan demanding the office be moved out of his riding, after a parolee from the office held hostages at Bank Street’s Southgate plaza Sunday night.
“I am demanding that Minister McLellan take action of the location of the parole office. There are more appropriate locations fort he office. The Minister knows this; people in the community know this. It’s time for action,” he says.
Lia Quickert, special assistant of communications for McLellan, says daily operations of parole offices fall under the responsibility of Corrections Canada.
“The decision on whether to move is up to Corrections Canada,” she says.
Shelley Hartman, a member of the Centretown Citizens Community Association, says the minister recently made a decision to move an office that was located in a residential area of Hamilton.
“We feel confident that it will be moved in a matter of months,” she says. “If the minister made this decision for Hamilton it’s just a matter of time before she’ll do the same for Ottawa.”
Diane Russon, a spokesperson for Corrections Canada, says that the situation in Hamilton involved a community correctional centre, which is a halfway house, and not a parole office.
“That building has been in a temporary location since it opened 10 years ago,” she says. “It was a concern with the community after recent incidents with the residents of the house.”
Residents hope that the pressure from politicians to move the office will have an affect on the minister. They want to see the office moved out of their neighbourhood.
“In the end it will be moved,” says Hartman.