Proposed parole office location not 'appropriate': minister

Residents of Ottawa's Centretown and Hintonburg communities gathered Monday night to denounce the federal government's plan to relocate a parole office to their neighbourhoods.

Butthe federal minister of Public Safety has said that locating an office there might not be something Hintonburg residents have to worry about.

"The message has been loud and clear," Peter Van Loan said when questioned in the House of Commons on Tuesday. "The 1010 [Somerset St.] site is not an appropriate site for a correctional facility of this type."

Van Loan said that following consultations with the community, he had asked Correctional Service Canada to reconsider the possible move to Somerset.

The correctional service has been deciding between the Somerset Street site and another one on Industrial Avenue for its new location. The lease for the current parole office on Elgin Street expires in September.

During Monday's meeting,the correctional serviceheard from close to 200 residents at the consultation session it had organized to discuss the relocation of the office to 1010 Somerset St.

"I think it goes beyond discomfort," Jeff Leiper, the president of the Hintonburg Community Association, said before the meeting. "It really is a question of real concern for personal safety that can't be dismissed."

Leiper described his community as tolerant but he also says residents don't want their children to be exposed to people convicted of the most serious crimes in Canada's Criminal Code.

"I think the fear is the fear of the unknown," he said.

'No to 1010'

Several people arrived at the meeting carrying signs that read: "No to 1010."

"We know this is an issue for your community," June Blackburn of the correctional service said during the meeting. "We also know what your concerns are."

One of those concerns, members of the community said, is the fact that the parole office would be located only a few hundred metres from an elementary school.

Correctional officials explained that the reason they're looking at that building is because it's already owned by the government, which would mean they wouldn't have to worry about landlords who might not want to rent to a parole office.

Some residents responded by saying that the government should be able to find available office space in less controversial areas.

The other proposed site is at 831 Industrial Ave. A public consultation session for that locationisscheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Chimo Hotel on Joseph Cyr Street.