Restorative Justice Week 2009

For more information about this Kit or about Restorative Justice Week, please contact:

Restorative Justice Division
Correctional Service of Canada
340 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0P9
Telephone: (613) 947-7309
Fax: (613) 943-2171
restorativejustice@csc-scc.gc.ca

Restorative Justice Division – Correctional Service Canada

Services and resources available from the division include:

• Advice on restorative justice processes for offenders, victims, and community members
• Coordination and provision of victim offender mediation services
• Educational presentations and training opportunities
• Specialized information packages drawing from a large library of relevant resources
• Support for relevant demonstration projects
• Research and evaluation expertise
• Support for Restorative Justice Week activities
• Coordination of the Ron Wiebe Restorative Justice Award

You can access more information about these services, as well as a list of resources (annotated bibliography, literature review, RJ education programs, RJ links, etc.) on the Division’s website: www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rj/index-eng.shtml

2009 Author Biographies

Reverend Carol Smith is the facilitator of St. Luke’s Renewal Centre. She is an ordained minister within the Presbyterian Church in Canada, with a Diploma in Prison Ministry from Acadia Divinity College and a Diploma in Restorative Justice from Queens Theological College. Carol facilitates programs which encourage healing and reconciliation as well as organizes volunteers from the community to offer programs. St. Luke’s is a prison ministry of a non-profit group, the Christian Council for Reconciliation.

Jim Cooley has been a police officer with the RCMP for almost 20 years now. The last 5, as the Program Director for Restorative Justice in British Columbia, Crime Prevention and Community Program Support Services (CP&CSS). Jim received trainer training in Family Group Conferencing, which the RCMP changed to Community Justice Forums (CJF), and is now the lead train-the-trainer and active facilitator for CJF throughout Canada.

Scott Harris is the Director General of Citizen Engagement for the Correctional Service of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. After working in the non-governmental sector, he joined CSC in 1995 and has held various positions including Correctional Officer, Case Management Officer, Parole Officer, Project Officer and Director of Restorative Justice. In addition to his work, he is presently working with partners across Canada to stimulate the development of a national consortium for restorative justice. Scott is also completing studies at Queens Theological College to pursue his M.Div. with a concentration in Restorative Justice.

Karen Bates just graduated from Hull University in the United Kingdom with a B.A.(Hons) Degree in Criminology with Law. Karen has been a British police officer for 11 years now, working in many areas of investigation including CID and covert policing. Her most recent posting was in training investigators how to interview victims, witnesses and also suspects. She is a mother of two children, aged 2 and 4 and starting in September she hopes to start studying towards my Masters Degree in Restorative Justice.

Manon Buck (B.A., B.Sc.Soc.) is a Project Officer working on the Criminal Justice Reform Portfolio with the Restorative Justice Division of Correctional Services Canada. She has also worked as a Conflict Resolution Advisor for Canada Revenue Agency’s Informal Conflict Management System (ICMS). In that role, Manon was accredited as an ICMS mediator. Manon is also an alumni of YOUCAN, Youth Canada Association, a community organisation that promotes peaceful conflict resolution through various processes.

Shannon Moroney (B.A., B.Ed., M.A.) was born and raised in Ontario, and worked full-time as a teacher, counsellor and social justice advocate for several years. At age thirty, Shannon’s life changed traumatically when, without warning and while she was out of town, her husband committed a series of violent sexual assaults on two strangers at his workplace, later kidnapping them to their home where he called the police. Upon his arrest, he disclosed that he had also committed acts of voyeurism on Shannon and others. Following a 2 ½ year court process, he was declared a Dangerous Offender—sentenced to an indeterminate period of incarceration (Canada’s highest sentence). As part of her healing journey, Shannon now shares her experience through public speaking, writing and artwork, advocating for restorative justice. She lives in Toronto where she is at work on a memoir entitled, “No Map: Finding Hope and Healing in the Aftermath of Crime”. For more information, please visit www.shannonmoroney.com

At the age of 15, Celine Lee witnessed the deaths of her mother and sister in an early morning house fire, which was the result of a neighbour committing a break and enter. Through the Fraser Region Victim Offender Mediation Program, Celine got several opportunities to meet with the offender face-to-face which allowed her to better understand the offender’s state of mind and the series of events which lead up to the fire. Most importantly these face-to-face meetings gave Celine a chance to express her feelings and emotions to the individual who she felt needed to hear them most. Questions which were harboured for almost 10 years were finally answered and a sense of healing and forgiveness resulted. Celine has worked and volunteered for various victim serving, community safety, and crime prevention organizations – holding the belief that the prevention of future victimization lies in addressing root causes of crime and supporting social development initiatives.

Yvonne Atwell was born and raised in the community of East Preston, Nova Scotia. She is currently the Executive Director of the Community Justice Society in Halifax, a not for profit society that delivers the restorative justice process for the Nova Scotia Restorative Justice Program of the Department of Justice. Yvonne spent 20 years as an administrator at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, and returned to Nova Scotia in 1984. In 1997, Yvonne ran and won a seat in the provincial legislature as the representative for the riding of Preston, making her the first Black woman in Atlantic Canada to sit as a member of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly. She consults widely on issues of diversity and public policy, equity, and personal empowerment for both government agencies and community organizations.

Gola Taraschi has spent a number of years working with circles, restorative justice and alternative justice processes in both community and government settings. Gola is the developer and author of the Best Practice Standard and Learning Curriculum for the Restorative Justice Program of the Nova Scotia Department of Justice and holds a Master of Arts Degree in Criminology from the University of Ottawa. Gola lives in Halifax with her family and works with government and non-government stakeholders seeking to create restorative interventions for individuals with complex needs, those who have been harmed and vulnerable communities. She also works with private organizations seeking to incorporate the benefits of Restorative Practices within their environments.

Following her studies in Sciences, Monique Lépine completed her nursing training at Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal. She received a bachelor’s degree in Science and a master’s degree in Education (Adult Education) from the Université de Montréal. Since her retirement, she has trained in helping relations in order to better care for the women who she helps overcome challenges. Monique is an active member of the Église Nouvelle Vie in Longueuil, Quebec, and Executive Secretary of the Church Council on Justice and Corrections.

With a bachelor’s degree in helping relations and pastoral care, Christine Lecompte is an ordained minister with the Association Chrétienne pour la francophonie and member of the Église Évangélique de la Rive-Nord. She is the First Vice-President on the Board of Directors for the Church Council on Justice and Corrections. She is currently employed at Correctional Service Canada’s Headquarters in the Restorative Justice Division.

Lorenn Walker (JD, MPH) is a Hawai‘i based consultant who designs, implements, researches, and reports on the results of public health education approaches, including restorative justice, to prevent violence and increase healing and happiness. Her website is www.lorennwalker.com and she may be contacted at lorenn@hawaii.edu.

Barry Shainbaum suffered from bipolar disorder for nearly 20 years. He now works as a professional photographer, speaker and broadcaster. He is also the author of Hope & Heroes, an inspirational photography book. Barry's website is www.barryshainbaum.com and he may be contacted at barry@barryshainbaum.com

Rev. Rod Carter is seconded from the CSC to serve as Director of the Restorative Justice Program of Queen’s Theological College. Previously Rod was the Ontario Regional Chaplain with the Correctional Service, and prison chaplain at Joyceville Institution.

Meredith Egan works for the Canadian Friends Service Committee as the Programme Coordinator of Quakers Fostering Justice, and represents the Quakers (the Religious Society of Friends) on the Church Council on Justice and Corrections where she serves as Secretary to the Board. She is also a member of the Religious Society of Friends, Vancouver Monthly Meeting.

Dr. Shakir Sheikh M.D. is a retired Psychiatrist, Pharmacist, Registered Imam and Muslim Marriage Officer in Ontario, Consultant CSC Interfaith Committee. He is an Educator and Mediator in Conflict Resolution. Dr. Sheikh is also a published Poet.

Bridget Mackenzie is a practicing Buddhist in the Tibetan Gelupa lineage and is the Buddhist representative on the InterFaith Committee for the Correctional Service of Canada. She works as a part-time Buddhist chaplain in the Pacific Region.

¹Correctional Service Canada (2008). International Perspective on Restorative Corrections: A Review of Literature

Please register for the National Symposium on Restorative Justice
to be held in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, November 18th – 20th, 2009
Contact Noreen Byrne at (709) 631-0069, cms@nfld.net