By Rebecca Turcotte
New Corrections Canada guidelines for locating parole offices do not call for enough public consultation when sites are being considered, says Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar.
“I thought we dealt with this already. The problem is their lack of communication with the community,” says Dewar. “With thorny issues I would argue the more consultation the better.”
Residents were not consulted when a parole office opened on Elgin Street in 2004, across the street from Elgin Street Public School.
Centretown residents and politicians demanded the office be moved because it was too close to the school. After extensive lobbying, Correctional Services Canada finally decided to relocate the office when its lease expires in 2009.
Albert Galpin, chairman of a neighbourhood safety committee, says he is disappointed that the community still does not have a say.
“Hasn’t Corrections Canada learned its lesson?” asks Galpin. “People want to be consulted when parole offices open in their neighbourhood.”
The new parole office facility guidelines, obtained through an Access to Information request, say CSC will consider input from the police and Citizens Advisory Committee when opening new
parole offices.
This committee is a group of volunteers that voice the concerns of the community, says CSC spokesperson Holly Knowles. It does not receive government funding.
“An advisory committee is important to have, but only if it represents the whole community,” says Dewar. “I don’t see the harm in looking for input from the wider group.”
The Citizens Advisory Committee does not represent residents’ opinions, says Galpin, who served on the committee for almost two months before resigning.
“I quit in disgust at the way it operates,” he says. “I was continually muzzled. The parole office issue was pushed off the agenda of several meetings.”
Representatives from the Citizens Advisory Committee were not available for comment.
Another troubling aspect of the new parole office guidelines, says Galpin, is that the document does not state that new parole offices should be located away from schools, parks or playgrounds.
“There is nothing in there to prevent them from doing something like this again,” he says.
But the minister responsible for CSC supports keeping parole offices away from schools.
“There is a clear directive that any parole office where the lease has expired or new parole offices should be located away from schools,” says Melisa Leclerc, spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.
The ministry intends to follow Day’s directive, says government spokesperson Knowles.
“We have learned from the Ottawa situation to take into consideration things like distance from schools and day cares,” says Knowles. “We need to meet the needs of both offenders and the community.”
The written policy usually reflects a minister’s directive, says Dewar.
“Usually what is followed is the written policy,” he says. “It’s a complete shock to me after everything that has happened that their policy has not changed.”
Galpin says he will continue to lobby for change in where CSC locates parole offices.
“I think they hope people will tire of the issue,” he says. “I have been working on having the Elgin Street parole office moved since the day after it opened, and I won’t stop until I see it happen.”