By Tara McCarthy
Federal documents show various locations were considered for the Ottawa District Parole Office — although a Centretown resident says the reason why the government chose the building at 301 Elgin St. is missing from the paper trail.
Albert Galpin, an advocate for neighbourhood safety, has been spearheading efforts to relocate the parole office, which is across the street from Elgin Street Public School. He says the location is a dangerous choice because of its proximity to children.
“There is no indication as to how negotiations started concerning 301 Elgin St. All this wheeling and dealing, all this has been done by design, creating muddy waters.”
Galpin obtained documents through an access to information request, in an attempt to uncover negotiations between November 2003 and March 2004 concerning where to locate the parole office.
The documents show that 1101 Prince of Wales Dr. was recommended as a suitable location on Sept. 8, 2003.
Another site, at 1095 Carling Ave., was considered but deemed unsuitable due to proximity to a drug store and high volume of women, children and elderly persons.
Galpin argues the current location violates these same concerns because an elementary school, community centre, drug store and bars are nearby.
He says the documents do not explain why the decision was made for the parole office to occupy the Elgin Street building. Other locations are discussed and then, according to an e-mail dated March 26, 2004, senior management of Correctional Service of Canada agreed to a Public Works and Government Services proposal to acquire Elgin as the relocation site.
“Why drop 1101 Prince of Wales?” Galpin says. “What happened for them to break all these rules?”
There is a need for more information, he says, because the “tally of poor decisions” behind the parole office placement only appears to be increasing.
Dennis Caughey, senior leasing advisor for Public Works, says the Prince of Wales Drive location was considered too small and eventually the lease was lost to a third party.
“Although 301 (Elgin Street) may not be perfect to some, that is subjective,” Caughey says.
Furthermore, he says, Public Works “explored every possibility.” He says efforts finally steered towards the Elgin Street building because Public Works had previously worked with its property owner Brian Karam.
Caughey says that Karam, also a local lawyer, decided to relocate his law offices to accommodate the parole office.
According to the documents, 301 Elgin St. was inspected on March 3, 2003, and recognized as “a class C building” that did not meet certain Public Works standards and in need of major renovations.
Caughey says class C is a “subjective term” that “means nothing really.”
He says the building met mechanical and electrical standards and its proximity to the police station and courthouse made it a good choice.
Documents show that Karam submitted a revised floor plan in April 2004 outlining building improvements to be made.
Ana Paquete, district director for the Ottawa District Parole Office, says she has no idea what the implications of a class C building are, but is aware of delays that led to a lost opportunity to lease the Prince of Wales Drive space.
“I don’t get into those things,” she says. “We just say we need a space and the bureaucracy wheels turn from there.”
Caughey says correctional service “didn’t feel the risk was high” because the Elgin and Gilmour streets area was largely commercial, not residential.
The parole office location recently became an election issue in Ottawa Centre for both MP Paul Dewar and Conservative candidate Keith Fountain.
Galpin says he is currently requesting more information to try to fill in the gap on the correctional service decision to occupy the Elgin Street building.
However, he says his confidence lies in political support from Dewar, Conservative leaders like Peter MacKay and city officials, who he says he hopes will work to relocate the parole office.
“I think with this one (issue) they have to follow through. There has been wrongdoing,” Galpin says. “I would hope that we still live in a democracy.”