Restorative Justice Week 2009

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to announce the theme, "Communities Responding to Human Needs", for Restorative Justice Week 2009, which will be held November 15-22, 2009. When thinking about this year's theme, the principle of Inclusion, comes to mind automatically. Contrary to the actual Canadian Criminal Justice System, a restorative justice approach is based on the engagement of all people that are affected by the crime; victim, offender, families and communities.

Restorative justice is about giving all parties involved in a conflict the opportunity to take an active role in a safe and respectful process that allows open dialogue between the victim, offender and the community. For offenders, it is about taking responsibility and being held accountable for the harm caused. For victims, it provides an opportunity to talk about the harm caused and ask questions that may be necessary as a part of the healing process. For communities surrounding the victim and offender, it provides an understanding of the root causes of the conflict.

Community involvement in restorative justice is one of the core components of the approach. Communities are one of the strongest key players when it comes to responding to human needs as "they are the people" in an excellent position to understand what the true needs are and how to respond and meet those needs. Also, from a broader perspective, communities include and represent all of the key members that need to be involved in a restorative justice approach. That being said, communities can understand and respond to human needs in a way that no other party can in creating safer and healthier communities.

Dialogue with and a connection to community are two important factors that need to be fostered for an individual's sense of belonging. When a sense of belonging to a community exists, the less likely a person will cause harm.

In 2008, over 165 cities proclaimed Restorative Justice Week. In addition, more educational institutions are exploring restorative jusitce approaches and training as a valuable tool in dealing with student conflict and bullying.

I would like to encourage you to write stories about how your community has responded to human needs restoratively and submit them to RestorativeJustice@CSC-SCC.GC.CA.

For further information, please contact Carol-Anne Grenier, Restorative Justice Division at (613) 943-5049 or by e-mail: GrenierCA@csc-scc.gc.ca or Michelle Landry, Chaplaincy at (613) 995-8366 or by email: LandryMI@csc-scc.gc.ca.

Terry Richardson
Director General
Chaplaincy and Restorative Justice Branch