Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said human error led to two mishandled releases of former prisoners in Edmonton’s Chinatown, and that the province is taking steps to prevent a repeat. Ellis spoke Friday at a news conference in Beaumont, saying he was outraged by the drop-offs and that they were not ordered by him.

“That is not a directive coming from me,” Ellis told reporters. Videos that surfaced showed provincial corrections officers opening a van’s doors and allowing former prisoners to leave in Chinatown. Edmonton city leaders have raised concerns about the releases, which Mayor Andrew Knack said had shocked him.

Knack has also argued that Edmonton does more than its fair share to house inmates. Coun. Anne Stevenson, who represents Chinatown in Ward O’Day-min, called on Ellis to establish a framework for coordinating former prisoners’ reintegration. “It is past time for action to be taken. I am done with having fingers pointed at the city, that we’re not doing enough,” Stevenson said. “We need them to follow through with the promises that they made to this community.”

Ellis said he was equally disappointed when he learned what had happened and had been discussing the matter with Knack. Deputy Minister Justin Krilker acted quickly after learning about the videos, Ellis said, bringing together executive teams to review the incidents. “He brought forward all the executive teams. Now, unfortunately, we’re all human beings, and what the conclusion was is that in both of those cases, it was human error,” Ellis said.

The minister did not explain what the error involved. He later said the government was taking corrective measures to ensure it would not happen again. Under his watch, Ellis said, the ministry has focused on stopping cycles of abuse and preventing inmates from repeating criminal behaviour by connecting people with services. “Everything that I’ve created is all about the warm handoff,” he said.

Ellis’s comments came as the province committed $38.5 million to lay the groundwork for a training hub for police and commercial drivers in Beaumont. The funding will pay for roads, utilities and municipal servicing needed to develop the city’s Innovation Park. Plans for the park include a safety campus where law enforcement and commercial drivers can train, with a test track and firing range.

The Alberta Motor Transportation Association will build the proposed campus and cover the costs associated with it. AMTA chairman Tim Bennett did not provide an expected completion date, but said the organization could now move ahead with designing and building the project.

Ellis said the development would increase capacity for the police and commercial driving industries, which often work closely together. He also described it as a benefit for Beaumont and the capital region, which have experienced rapid growth in recent years.

Beaumont Mayor Lisa Vanderkwaak said the Innovation Park’s spin-off effects could help diversify the city’s tax base, which currently relies mainly on residential properties. “We don’t know the full impact, but I believe that we are poised to really have a great opportunity here to see Beaumont prosper in a whole new way,” Vanderkwaak said.

Based on reporting by Edmonton Journal.