By Brett Popplewell
To his friends and allies, Albert Galpin is a tenacious community watchdog, but to his opponents, he is a relentless bloodhound who won’t stop short of accomplishing his goals.
It’s 8:30 a.m. Galpin is walking with purpose. He’s just dropped off his kids at Elgin Street Public School. It’s a daily routine he enjoys before his 3.5 kilometre hike to work.
Reaching the corner of Elgin Street and Gilmour Street, he’s immediately confronted by Bob Part. Part is a parole officer with the Ottawa district parole office.
“Mr. Galpin, stop harassing my employees,” says Part.
A heated exchange of words ensues, with Part threatening to press charges against Galpin for his relentless attempts to relocate the parole office. But Galpin does not flinch.
“Go ahead,” he says with confidence. “You’re in violation of Treasury Board guidelines.”
The encounter ends with no resolution. Part heads into the parole office as Galpin, unflustered, continues walking to work.
Stopping for a coffee on his journey, Galpin explains angry face-to-face encounters like the one with Part are rare. But Galpin’s not a stranger to shaking things up.
Galpin is a long-talker with a philosopher’s eye and an energetic character – the type who never seems to sleep. He’s angered and mystified that the Correctional Service of Canada broke its own guidelines and placed the office within 200 metres of a school. He starts talking, and before long, his coffee’s cold and he hasn’t taken a sip.
“It just blows my mind that they could get away with this,” he says. “There’s an obvious risk in having the office that close to our community’s children.”
As the chair for neighbourhood security and safety with the Centretown Citizens’ Community Association, Galpin is leading the charge to get the parole office moved. But he’s not alone. Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli and Ed Broadbent, a veteran member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre, are onside.
Broadbent credits Galpin for bringing the parole office issue to his attention, but Ana Paquete, district director for that office, says Galpin is going too far.
“He’s a formidable opponent,” she says. “But certainly my staff feel that they are under attack for everything that they do,” she says, pointing out how Galpin is now after her employees for smoking outside the office door.
“Their backs are against the wall,” says Galpin. “We’ve got them on the 200-metre issue; the rest is just negative behaviour.”
At 48, Galpin is no rookie to conflict. In the past he’s taken on Royal Trust, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board, and the City of Ottawa. If those battles are any indication, he’ll see this parole office issue out to the bitter end.
Galpin was born in Sri Lanka in 1956. His parents were both Canadian foreign service members. He spent his childhood in Pakistan, Iran, Ireland, Ghana, and Denmark before settling into Trinity College, a boarding school outside Toronto.
He was student president at Trinity before studying politics at Queen’s University and economics at England’s Reading University.
He later followed in his parents footsteps and joined the foreign service.
To date, he’s lived in 13 countries, but says Ottawa is his favourite place to live.
“The reason we like downtown Ottawa is that everyone is different. You’ve got people from all ethnicities and from both ends of the economic spectrum,” he says. “It’s an ideal place to raise a family.”
When not on posting, Centretown has been his home since 1982. His last foreign assignment was in Budapest, and since his return five years ago, he’s been heavily involved in his neighbourhood.
In 1999, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board threatened to close Elgin Street Public School, but Galpin fought, along with other parents, and convinced the board to keep the school open.
In 2003, he took on the city over the increase in property taxes that was affecting Ottawa residents.
He humbly explains that he simply “wrote a lot of letters and complained as part of a group.”
But city councillor, Diane Holmes, says: “He played a really big role in stirring the pot, and convincing the residents to get involved.”
He’s also been an advocate for workers’ rights within Foreign Affairs as a board member for the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers.
John Bonar, president of the association, has worked with Galpin for over 20 years.
“He’s a tremendous source of advice on how to handle collective bargaining,” says Bonar.
“He’s an incredibly dedicated foreign service officer. He really does know the world. But that being said, he’s incredibly devoted to his community. I think it’s probably when you’re overseas and representing your country that you get to really appreciate where you’re from.”
In order to truly understand Galpin’s activism, the answer lies closer to home.
“I just believe strongly in this neighbourhood. I have a self interest here, and that’s to keep my kids safe,” he says.
But self-interest doesn’t seem to be Galpin’s strongest motivation. According to Jennifer, his wife of 21 years, Galpin can’t stand to see people be taken advantage of.
“When he sees an injustice, he puts 150 per cent of himself into fighting it,” she says. “Basically he doesn’t like to see people pull the wool over other people’s eyes, whether it be in work, the community, and in the family.”
Galpin’s mother Jeanne lives next door to him on Frank Street. She says he’s always been devoted in everything he does, but most notably to his family.
“I think he’s a family man first of all,” she says. “He just likes to keep things safe for his family and for everybody else. I think he feels very strongly about the people in the neighbourhood.”
A father of four, Galpin’s evenings and weekends are reserved for hockey practices, ice skating, piano lessons, soccer, and family time.
With a full-time job and a family, Galpin can’t even explain where he finds the time to take on so many projects.
“I do get very tired sometimes,” he says. “But I don’t give up.”
Walking into Galpin’s cubicle at Foreign Affairs, there are three fixtures that stand out among the shuffled papers and scattered folders.
First, there are the photos of his wife and children on the corner of his desk, a constant reminder of those he holds dearest in the world. Second is a small statue given to him by his mother. The statue is of a British lawyer with wig and robe saying “Sue the Bastards” – a testament to the man’s determination. Third is a photograph of a scud being shot out of the night sky over Saudi Arabian airspace during the first Gulf War – a reminder of the places he has been.
While some, including his mother, say Galpin’s resilience and tenacity make him well suited for politics, he says he’s not heading in that direction.
“I’m doing this just out of concern for the community. I know the amount of work the politicians are going through, and I don’t know how they find the time to do it.”
Still, the politicians say he’s doing a stand-up job.
“Mr. Galpin’s an example of what citizenship should be,” says Broadbent. “He’s done exactly what a concerned citizen should do.”