Restorative Justice Week 2010

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It gives me great pleasure to call upon all Mayors, Reeves, Councillors and community leaders from across Canada to proclaim Restorative Justice Week 2010. The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has been an active partner in the restorative justice community for more than a decade and has been proud to provide leadership to the annual celebration since 1996.

Restorative Justice Week 2010 will be held in Canada, and throughout the world, from November 14th - 21st for the purpose of sharing the concrete learning and results that have come from the growing experience of practitioners and stakeholders in the application of a restorative justice approach and processes.

The theme this year is “Reflexions Past, Present and Future”, which acknowledges the beginning of a new decade as a good time to reflect on the growth and achievements of the past; to take stock of the present; and to set new objectives for the future. In 2009, there were 164 towns and cities across Canada, representing almost 30% of the Canadian population, who proclaimed Restorative Justice Week. The provinces of British-Columbia, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia also proclaimed.  You can see a list of the 2009 proclamations on our website at www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rj/rj2009/proc09-eng.shtml.

Things you could do as leaders in your community include the

• Declare / proclaim Restorative Justice Week 2010. Our website hosts a printable version of the proclamation form: www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rj/rj2010/genproc-eng.shtml;
• Host a town hall meeting to promote an awareness of how restorative justice is expressed in your communities;
• Promote an open, respectful dialogue in an effort to help members of your community deal with issues such as community safety and relationship deterioration caused by conflict, in order to nurture the healing process;
• Challenge your community partners to create a local planning committee for Restorative Justice Week 2010 activities;
• Invite a guest speaker from your community, who is involved in restorative justice, to share their perspectives.

Municipal participation in previous years has been a great success. This year, we hope to build on this success with your support.  Please let us know if your city, town or village is planning an event or proclaiming Restorative Justice Week 2010. We would like to recognise your participation on our website and in our national report.

Please fax a copy of the proclamation or the minutes of the meeting declaring/proclaiming Restorative Justice Week 2010, as well as your contact information, to the attention of Manon Buck at (613) 943-2171.

Should you require someone to talk to your city council or if you would simply like more information, please contact CSC’s Restorative Justice Division at RestorativeJustice@csc-scc.gc.ca.

Sincerely,

Don Head
Commissioner