A Centretown resident who has been fighting to have a downtown parole office moved away from a nearby elementary school is appealing for help after the owners of the property sued him for $3.8 million.
Albert Galpin, co-chair of the parent council of the Elgin Street School, where two of his children attend classes, had been one of the leaders in the fight to have the parole office moved from its location across from the school, since it opened there in Sept. 2004.
As a result of his efforts, the owner of the building where the parole office is located issued the lawsuit against Galpin, for loss of future income, which has already cost nearly $6,000 in legal fees.
“I’ve been trying to take a low-key approach to all of this, but now that all the bills are piling up, I’ve had to go public,” he said. “What I really hope is that the landlord does the right thing and withdraws this claim, because all we are trying to do is protect our children.”
On Wednesday, city council passed a motion asking The Correctional Service of Canada to limit potential sites for the new office to the business section of downtown.
Galpin said they have no problem with the parole office staying in Centertown, but it should not be located across from an elementary school.
Anyone who wishes to help can make a direct deposit to the Galpin Legal Defence Fund at any TD Canada Trust branch (account #02975212083).
