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 a fight to have the parole office moved from its location across from the school since it opened in September 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.
Anyone who wishes to help can make a direct deposit to the Galpin Legal Defence Fund at any TD Canada Trust branch (account No. 02975212083).
