Modern restorative justice programmes have been used in Canada for at least 25 years. There are now programmes in every province and territory.  Many handle property offences and youth cases, while others deal with adult offenders and violent crime. Some Canadian programmes are known internationally.

Although the programmes vary from place to place, they share certain characteristics: they invite active participation of victims, offenders and community members in discussing what happened during the offence, what harms resulted, and what needs to be done to address that harm.

Restorative justice processes are also used in schools, workplaces and other non-criminal justice settings.

In 2005 a group of individuals began discussing the merits of creating a national restorative justice organization.  In 2007 they agreed to expand the conversation to include more restorative justice practitioners and a wide range of other groups.  They formed the Steering Committee for the Canadian Restorative Justice Consortium (CRJC), and began circulating a discussion paper to restorative practitioners, victims, offenders, Aboriginal people, justice officials, and others.

Seventy four groups and individuals have responded to date. The responses generally supported the development of CRJC, but raised some cautions and concerns as well. 

The Steering Committee is continuing to reach out to various groups and regions for more input.  They have re-circulated the discussion paper and the draft report. The deadline for submitting comments is August 31, 2008.  The Steering Committee expects to present its initial findings during Restorative Justice Week 2008.

The consultation document is available in both English and French, as is a draft report based on the responses received to date. Any further comments should be sent to:

Andrew McWhinnie
3910 Wilkinson Road
Victoria, B.C. V8Z 5A2
Andrew_McWhinnie@telus.net

Barbara Tomporowski

August 2008