Canada

Provides a listing of articles on restorative justice developments in Canada. Articles appear in the order in which they were added to the site with the most recent appearing first.

. Histories and memories of the India boarding schools in Mexico, Canada, and the United States

Indigenismo can be found in almost every country in the Americas. Most indigenistas attempted to write the Indian into their national pasts and adopted similar modernizing projects. Still, what appears to be a common history can be deceiving. Examination of one indigenista project in three distinct American contexts—the indigenous boarding schools in Mexico, Canada, and the United States—indicates considerable differences in practice. For one thing, while the boarding schools north of the border aimed to separate students from the deleterious influence of their communities and bring them into the cultural mainstream, in Mexico indigenous communities were essential to development strategies, and the internados, as an important element of these strategies, sought to cultivate rather than break down ethnic affiliations. These and other differences in the politics that emerged from these projects suggest that the study of indigenismo may require attention to the ways in which particular power arrangements give meaning to indigenous identities.

Chatterjee, Jharna. RCMP's Restorative Justice Initiative

With the aim of pursuing policing within a restorative justice framework, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have chosen the Community Justice Forum (CJF) as a discretionary option for performing their policing duties. This initiative has expanded across Canada through workshops conducted by the RCMP in 1997. Chatterjee explains the concept of restorative justice, connects the CJF initiative with the RCMP’s already formulated commitment to community policing, and reports on evaluated outcomes of the RCMP’s use of Community Justice Forums.

Zanin, Brenda. Speaking with one voice: RCMP launches initiative to help Community Justice Forums share experiences

Community justice forums function as an alternative to traditional courts. According to Brenda Zanin, an increasing number of offenses in Canada are being addressed through such forums. This restorative justice approach fits well within the community policing philosophy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). In fact the RCMP has held many meetings across Canada to foster and improve community justice forums. Zanin reports on the RCMP’s efforts to encourage and implement community justice forums in communities and in the police force.

Elias, Anna and Williams, Sharon. Provincial Directory of Restorative Justice Programs

Since 1998, several Community Accountability Programs have been initiated in British Columbia. This directory was developed in an attempt to increase information sharing and networking among programs. It outlines program contact information, target audiences, program structure and model, goals and objectives, referral types and sources, funding support, staffing structures, training and volunteer information. (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.

Gustafson, Dave. "Facilitating communication between victims and offenders in cases of serious and violent crime."

In Canada victim-offender reconciliation programs have achieved notable outcomes with less violent crimes. In 1989 a research project in British Columbia investigated a proposed model to apply such programs to violent crimes. In this article Gustafson reports on the findings of that research, which included information from both offenders and victims. Following the research, a pilot victim-offender mediation project was launched to address even the most violent crimes. Gustafson describes the program and its results.

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

Rainville-Laforte, F.. Bill C-37 to Amend the Young Offenders Act: Implications for the Correctional Service of Canada

Bill C-37 encourages alternatives to incarceration for young offenders who commit less serious offenses and focuses on reserving custody in a closed environment for those who commit serious offenses or require closer supervision. The bill proposes an increase in the maximum youth court sentence for first-degree murder from 5 to 10 years, changes in parole eligibility, and an increase in the time period that must elapse before young offender criminal records are destroyed. The bill also creates the presumption that certain young offender cases will be transferred to adult court. Implications of proposed changes to the Young Offenders Act for the Correctional Service of Canada are discussed, and possibilities for action in response to the proposed amendments are suggested. 4 references

Longclaws, 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.

Dutil, Jean-L.. "Restorative Practices Seen by the Court"

Quebec, Canada, Dutil discusses a number of principles and practices in Aboriginal communities in Quebec – principles and practices blending Aboriginal patterns and Euro-Canadian criminal justice. Using examples from actual incidents of crime, he refers in particular to sentencing circles and their similarity to traditional Aboriginal responses to wrongdoing (those traditional responses being based on Aboriginal values and philosophy).

Umbreit, Mark S. "Mediation of Criminal Conflict: An Assessment of Programs in Four Canadian Provinces: Executive Summary Report."

This executive summary describes a study of community based non-profit organizations that provide mediation services for referrals from the criminal justice systems in cities in four Canadian provinces. The four program sites offer a wide range of diversity in program design, community acceptance, caseload size, history, management procedures, and impact on the criminal justice system.

Moore, Larry and Stanway, Kevin. Kaslo Restorative Justice Committee: Community Accountability Program

The authors explain the philosophy behind and the operation of the Kaslo Community Accountability Program in Kaslo, British Columbia. The report gives a profile of the community, the program objectives for it, and the standards and methods adopted for implementation of the accountability program. The document includes copies of sixteen actual forms used in the police investigation and processing, plus those in the accountability program. The forms cover the entire process from investigation to feedback/evaluation for reporting the outcome.

Walker, Ruth. In Canada, solving youth crime tribal way

In this article Walker points to the potential of restorative justice ideas and processes in the Canadian justice system. Those ideas and processes may give greater satisfaction to victims, and they may offer governments an effective alternative to issues and problems in the justice system, especially the costs of incarceration. Walker uses examples of cases from western Canada (where restorative justice resonates with Indian tribal justice) to demonstrate restorative justice in action, including conferencing, restitution, and involvement of victims.

Hunt, Ronald. Conferencing a Serious Arson Case

The author, on the Police Services Board in Renfrew, Ontario (Canada), relates the details of dealing with an arson offense caused by a youth. The offense was dealt with in a family group conference using the conference script from Real Justice. Participants included the youth, his family, a lawyer, and representatives from the school damaged by the arson. The outcomes of the process are included in this paper.

Point, Steven.. Alternative justice, testing the waters.

This article presents an address by Steven Point, judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia, at the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan, January 29, 2001. In this address to law students, he introduces restorative justice as the potential for an alternative justice system, for First Nations communities, but also for all Canadians. He relates his own judicial experiences to demonstrate the application of restorative justice principles and processes in a First Nations context.

Spencer, Charmaine.. Achieving justice for abused seniors: The search for solutions

Spencer looks at various aspects of senior abuse and responses to it. Contending that it is underreported, she examines why this is the case. Reasons include hesitancy on the part of seniors and systemic problems in the justice system. This leads to discussion of the search for solutions other than the current criminal justice mechanisms. In particular Spencer considers the question whether restorative justice approaches to senior abuse offer better alternatives.

Sinclair, Murray.. Aboriginal People and Justice Issues

The author, an associate chief judge in Manitoba, Canada, reflects on his experience adjudicating cases for Aboriginal people (including youth). He contends that Aboriginal culture and systems are intrinsically in conflict with Euro-Canadian justice, and that this conflict necessarily means Aboriginal people will run afoul of the Euro-Canadian justice systems, to the failure of each. He points out specific Canadian policies and practices that undermined Aboriginal culture, and he discusses Aboriginal practices that were intended to deal with offenses in the community.