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Creating Alternatives for Young Offenders in Toronto

An innovative diversion programme offers young offenders in the Greater Toronto area an opportunity to clear their records and contribute to the community. Called PACT (for participation, acknowledgement, commitment, and transformation), it partners with youth courts to provide a restorative justice and community service alternative in sentencing young offenders.

Law Commission of Canada. Minister’s Reference on Institutional Child Abuse: Discussion Paper.

Established in 1997 by Act of Parliament in Canada, the Law Commission of Canada is an independent federal law reform agency. The Commission provides advice to Parliament on reforming and modernizing Canada’s laws. In recent years the issue of child abuse has gained considerable public attention. This includes child abuse in institutions where children were placed for their education, welfare, rehabilitation, or even protection. In late 1997 the federal Minister of Justice asked the Law Commission of Canada to examine the matter of abuse in institutions. Specifically, the Commission examined processes for addressing the harms caused by abuse of children in government-run, government-funded, or government sponsored institutions. The Commission’s report identifies the needs of survivors of institutional child abuse, approaches to redress the harms, and ways to begin to provide redress for survivors.

Law Commission of Canada. Law Commission of Canada Annual Report 2003-2004.

Established in 1997 by Act of Parliament in Canada, the Law Commission of Canada is an independent federal law reform agency. As such, the Commission provides advice to Parliament on reforming and modernizing Canada’s laws. In its 2003-2004 annual report, the Commission highlights its efforts over the course of the year in the following areas: governance relationships; social relationships; economic relationships; and personal relationships. With respect to social relationships in particular, the Commission produced a report to Parliament titled Transforming Relationships through Participatory Justice. This report contains a number of proposals whereby governments, justice officials, community groups, and individuals working in conflict resolution can support innovative justice processes which have citizen participation at their core.

Law Commission of Canada. Law Commission of Canada Annual Report 2000-2001: Engaging Canadians.

Established in 1997 by Act of Parliament in Canada, the Law Commission of Canada is an independent federal law reform agency. The Commission provides advice to Parliament on reforming and modernizing Canada’s laws. Central to the Commission’s mission is to engage Canadian citizens in the process of understanding and renewing law. This is pursued through various ways and means, including research papers, discussion groups, conferences, meetings, and Internet interactivity (e.g., e-mail, comments boards, webcasts, and online discussions). This document consists of its annual report for 2000-2001. Of particular focus, beginning on page 8, is elaboration of the Commission’s efforts in exploring restorative justice as an alternative approach to the delivery of criminal justice. As part of this, the Commission is also investigating the extension of restorative justice principles into other areas of law, such as family law, labor law, and commercial law.

Law Commission of Canada. Law Commission of Canada Annual Report 1999-2000: Relationships.

Can the idea of transformative justice better shape how law recognizes diverse social relationships, conceives communities as areas of shared interest, and reconciles the competing demands of individual identity and group identities? In Canada’s socio-demographically diverse society, more people are identifying themselves both as members of society as a whole and as members of groups and communities. They are finding recognition and purpose in the groups and communities with which they choose to be associated, or to which they are assigned by others. In this they acknowledge how much their personal identity is made up of identities formed in relationships with others. Modern law deals uneasily with these overlapping identities. It focuses on individuals and takes a narrow view of which group identities and communal relationships are legitimate. Only rarely do legal concepts even recognize group identity as an element of personal identity. Especially where community membership and affiliation reflect cultural differences, Canadian law has difficulty both in providing equal access to justice and in responding to alternative visions of what justice entails. (excerpt)

Law Commission of Canada. Law Commission of Canada Annual Report 2002-2003.

There is a close connection between restorative justice in criminal law and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in civil law. They both attempt to institute a new awareness of the processes through which conflicts are identified and structured, and of what might be the optimal corrective results for conflicts. Over the last few years, the Law Commission of Canada has consulted Canadians on their perceptions of the justice system and on the possibility that the principles and practices of restorative justice might provide an effective response to criminal and civil law conflicts. The Commission’s discussion paper, From Restorative Justice to Transformative Justice, has been widely distributed. The Commission also produced an educational video entitled Communities and the Challenge of Conflict: Perspectives on Restorative Justice, which explores the role of the community in conflict resolution, and funded several complementary projects dealing with conflict resolution. The Commission will publish a report on the challenges of transformative and consensual justice in 2003-2004. (excerpt)

Law Commission of Canada. Law Commission of Canada Annual Report 2001-2002.

The Commission’s research plan is structured around four broad themes: personal relationships, social relationships, economic relationships and governance relationships. These themes intentionally extend beyond the traditional understanding of the categories of the law (e.g. family law, criminal law and labour law) toward an examination that is without taboos or private preserves. It is a question of reflecting in an unbiased way on the effects of the law and of questioning the why of concepts in the law that, in many instances, appear sacrosanct. (excerpt)

Minister of Justice. Law Commission of Canada Performance Report For the period ending March 31, 2001.

The limitations of Canada’s justice system in responding to conflict have long been recognized. The civil court experience — for those Canadians who can access the courts — can leave all parties feeling dissatisfied and disenfranchised. The same can be said of the criminal court experience: victims often feel detached from the process and offenders are not always held responsible for the concrete consequences of their behaviour. The Commission has been exploring restorative justice as an alternative method of delivering criminal justice. It is also examining the potential for extension of restorative justice principles to other fields of law, such as family law, labour law and commercial law. (excerpt)

Minister of Justice. Law Commission of Canada Performance Report For the period ending March 31, 2002

Law that is relevant and effective and provides justice for all requires the involvement of citizens, a multidisciplinary approach to analysing problems and new concepts of law. The Law Commission engages Canadians in critical debate about the renewal of the law. It has developed an ambitious, multidisciplinary research plan responsive to concrete problems in Canadian law. It has also proposed new approaches to existing concepts of law as new socio-economic trends emerge. The Commission thus continues to fulfil the mandate set out in the Law Commission of Canada Act. (excerpt)

Hannem, Stacey and Petrunik, Michael G. Canada's Circles of Support and Accountability: A Community Justice Initiative for High-risk Sex Offenders

In 1986, legislation that was designed to keep high-risk offenders away from the public actually created a loophole that allowed certain high risk offenders to be released at the conclusion of their sentence without any community supervision requirement. Canadian authorities realized that releasing high risk offenders, especially those convicted of sex crimes against children, into a fearful and hostile community would not serve the public interest. As such, the COSA initiative came about with the understanding that community protection can be enhanced by a restorative approach that combines offender reintegration with a concern for public safety. The development of this approach in Canada came about as a result of public outcry following a high-profile case in which a released sex offender killed a child. COSA works by uniting four to seven trained team members in a covenant with a high-risk sex offender in order to provide the offender with assistance obtaining work, housing and recreation, social assistance, and community resources. The criteria for successful COSA’s include open communication between COSA team members and the criminal justice system. The COSA model requires a careful balance between reintegration and risk management concerns, but the effort provides enhanced community safety and valuable community reintegration services that help keep offenders from recidivating. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

Mandell, Deena and Sullivan, Nancy and Meredith, Grahame and Sullivan, Nancy. Family Group Conferencing: Final Evaluation Report

This document reports the final evaluation of a three-year pilot project of family group conferencing in Etobicoke. A collaborative effort of four child welfare organizations in Etobicoke and the Toronto area, the family group conferencing pilot lasted from October 1998 to April 2001. The aim was to establish a model of family group conferencing that would function successfully by providing good and effective child welfare services in the Toronto area. This report covers the following topics: background to the pilot project; the origins of family group conferencing; specifics of the structure of the Etobicoke Family Group Conferencing Project; the evaluation’s findings with respect to outcomes, benefits, challenges, and costs of the conferences; the development of a referral system; and projection of next steps for the project.

Evans, Donald G. Faith Community Celebrates 10 Years of Circles of Support

Public concern over the release of sex offenders into the community with no supervision requirements led a small church to form a CoSA group to assist the offender and to assure the public safety. While most CoSA groups in Canada are faith-based groups, there is no requirement that the groups be faith-based. The CoSA program works by accepting high-risk sex offenders newly released from prison into the group at the core member. The CoSA groups, including offenders, meet regularly for 2 to 3 hours; there are also daily check-in responsibilities that allow the offender immediate access to two or three group members when the offender needs support. Informal support is offered through telephone calls and activities such as shopping trips. CoSA members are volunteers who are trained and have usually committed themselves to the program for at least 1 year. Decisions within the CoSA group are made by consensus and, upon release from prison the offender agrees to abide by all the conditions set out by the CoSA group. Evidence and testimonials are offered that illustrate the effectiveness of CoSA groups in Canada. CoSA groups are reshaping how corrections is viewed in Canada and the practical support offered to high-risk sex offenders is viewed as necessary for both the public safety and the successful transition of the offender back into the community. Over the next 10 years it will be important to build a base of evidence showing how CoSA groups contribute to the overall well-being of the community and newly released offenders. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

Shaw, Margaret and Jané, Frederick. Restorative Justice And Policing In Canada: Bringing The Community Into Focus

A widespread movement to develop alternative ways of delivering justice in society is taking place across a broad range of countries. Most commonly referred to as Restorative Justice, or Community Justice, the movement has recently become the subject of increasing interest from governments and sectors of the justice system, including the police. Canada has been well represented in the development of restorative justice in terms of past practice and recent innovation. As part of the re-orientation of policing to community policing, the RCMP and the OPP as well as other police forces and components of the Canadian justice system have recently begun to embrace a much more active role in restorative justice. As key components of the justice system, the police have a central gate-keeping role through their exercise of discretionary decision-making. For many the current justice system is seen as failing to reduce crime and to attend to the needs of victims, offenders or the community, but while many claims have been made about the ability of restorative justice to address these issues, there has also been criticism about its limitations, and concern about the wholesale adoption of restorative practices particularly by the police. The purpose of this report is to set these initiatives in the context of the development of restorative justice practices in Canada and elsewhere. It considers the historical development of restorative justice ideas, the underlying philosophy and goals of the movement and the characteristics of the main practices; the development of restorative practices in Canada and current initiatives; the benefits and limitations of restorative justice; and some of the wider issues concerning the role of the police in the use of restorative justice, particularly at the pre-charge stage. (excerpt)

Solicitor General, Canada. Consolidated Report: Report on the Provisions and Operations of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act

This report provides information on the CCRA and related issues in order to support review of the legislation by a parliamentary committee. As such, this report is factual, presenting detailed information on legislative implementation, and perceived impacts and effects. The report has six sections. The first is the executive summary, followed by this brief introductory section. The third section provides a short history of corrections and conditional release in Canada. Section four situates the CCRA in context during its development and initial implementation. Key challenges and opportunities in the 1980s, and 1990s are outlined in this section. Section five provides detailed information on the provisions and operations of the CCRA from November 1992 to March 31, 1997. Information is also provided for the very limited experience with changes to the CCRA which were introduced through Bill C-55 in July 1997. The final section (six) provides brief concluding remarks. (excerpt)

La Prairie, Carol. Some reflections on new criminal justice policies in Canada: restorative justice, alternative measures and conditional sentences

A review analyzes significant changes in sentencing policy in Canada in the past 2 years. New legislation in 1996 contains 2 provisions that have the potential to reduce the use of imprisonment, especially at the provincial and territorial levels: the introduction of conditional sentences, which allows the courts to order that a prison sentence of up to 2 years (less 1 day) may be served in the community, subject to good behavior and provided that such an order would not endanger the community; and the formal introduction of alternative sentences for adult offenders, with each provincial or territorial jurisdiction having flexibility to establish guidelines for the administration of the measures. Another related change in Canadian criminal justice policy has been the adoption of the concept of "restorative justice." A general over-reliance on the use of imprisonment and the overrepresentation of Aboriginal offenders in prison have been longstanding problems in Canada. But without the provision of appropriate guidelines as well as adequate community resources to support them, it is unlikely that the new initiatives will have much impact on incarceration levels or indigenous overrepresentation.

Calhoun, Avery. Calgary Community Conferencing- School component 1999-2000: A year in review.

Begun in 1998, Calgary Community Conferencing (CCC) consists of a joint initiative involving governmental and nongovernmental organizations. It take referrals from the youth justice system and the school system. This report focuses on CCC's work with schools in 1999-2000. Data presented include the following: the number of conferences conducted and participating schools; types of incidents and referral sources; response time with respect to the incident, referral, and conference; information on the participants; the direct services provided by conferencing staff to participants; restoration agreements; school consequences for young people who participated in conferences; incidents referred but not brought to conference; and characteristics of youth participants

Longclaws, L. and Barkwell, L and Galaway, Burt and Barkwell, L. Piloting Family Group Conferences for Young Aboriginal Offenders in Winnipeg, Canada

This paper reports on a pilot project using family group conferences for eight Aboriginal young offenders and their families in Winnipeg. With the cooperation of the probation service, the recommendations of the conferences were substituted for a predisposition report and were presented to the court as the recommended disposition. The results of the process are described, including initial meetings, venue and timing of FGCs, participants, and the conference process. The plans developed and the process of presenting them to court are described. The judges who sentenced in the cases largely ignored the recommendations from the FGCs. Implications are discussed.

Laprairie, Carol. Aboriginal Criminal Justice in Canada

A special issue of the journal is devoted to Aboriginal crime and justice, primarily in Canada which use Braithwaite's (1989) "Crime, Shame and Reintegration" as an explanatory framework. Articles include customary law among aboriginal groups in British Columbia; crime control in 3 Ontario Nishnawbe-Aski Nation communities; dominant and dominated cultures of native villages in Alaska; the role of police on 25 reserves in Quebec; homicide trends among Aboriginals and other Canadians; Aboriginal female suicides in custody; the dimensions of "owning" crime and disorder in the east James Bay Cree communities of Quebec; the juvenile court system in 22 Manitoba communities; factors influencing native policing arrangements; critiques the theory of invention of tradition, with the People of the Longhouse of the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation; the issue of community participation in socio-legal control within the Inuit of the Northwest Territories; and the characteristics of Aboriginal recidivist. Lastly, Scott Clark attempts to tie together the underlying themes of this special issue.

Immarigeon, Russ. Family Group Conferences in Canada and the United States: An Overview

This paper suggests possible uses of New Zealand style family group conferences in Canada and the United States. Applications are considered in British Columbia with aboriginal empowerment efforts. The interest in Kellogg and McConnell Clark foundations and the American Bar Association in preservation of families programs are considered. Recent child care and protection programs in Kansas, Michigan, Vermont, Maine, New York are discussed. The author concludes that practitioners and policy-makers have not yet examined or explored the full implications of the range of changes possible through family group conferences, especially the role of professionals.

Bargen, J. Critical View of Conferencing

A critique of two new criminal justice initiatives, sentencing circles in Canada and family group conferences in Australia, is presented. Sentencing circles in Canada involve a process whereby community members recommend the sentence in cases involving other members of the same community. Family group conferences in Australia allow persons directly affected by crime to actively participate in dealing with the consequences of crime. Both collective and individual accountability for offending behavior. Both initiatives are evaluated in terms of their implications for aboriginal and indigenous communities.