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"Creating a Framework for the Wisdom of the Community:" Review of Victim Services in Nunavut, Northwest and Yukon Territories

1. 2. Nunavut
   4. 2.4 Review of Programs in Other (Non-Nunavut) Remote Aboriginal Communities
   1. 2.4.1 Introduction
   2. 2.4.2 Methodology
   3. 2.4.3 Remote Aboriginal Victim Services Program Descriptions

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2.4 Review of Programs in Other (Non-Nunavut) Remote Aboriginal Communities

2.4.1 Introduction

In addition to a study of victim services currently available in Nunavut, research was conducted to review victim services that have been undertaken in other remote (non-Nunavut) indigenous communities across Canada and within other circumpolar regions. This information will assist decision makers at all levels, giving them the opportunity to build on best practices and lessons learned as they consider appropriate victim services for Nunavut. This section reviews victim related services in the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska and the rest of Canada, along with a review of any documentation available on services in New Zealand, Australia, and the circumpolar regions where reports are available in English. The findings of this review were discussed with key Nunavummiut service providers (see Appendix A) and their responses and recommendations based on these findings are contained in the following section, “Recommendations for Victim Services in Nunavut.”

Victim services programs run by state, provincial and territorial governments in remote Aboriginal locations within Canada and Alaska are described in section 2.4.3, “Remote Aboriginal Victim Services Program Descriptions.” “Best practices” in victim services, in each jurisdiction, both within government and outside government, are highlighted in the sub-section 2.4.4 entitled “Best Practices in Victim Services.” An analysis of those factors that contribute to effective victim services programming in remote Aboriginal locations is contained in section 2.4.5, “Factors Contributing to Successful Programming.”

2.4.2 Methodology

This chapter is the result of 43 interviews, conducted by phone, e-mail and in person, with people working in programs providing services to victims in Alaska, Yukon, NWT, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador. Non-Nunavut victim services providers consulted during this phase of the research are listed by province and region in Appendix A.

Attempts were made by phone and through the internet to gather information on other circumpolar regions such as Iceland. However, persons contacted did not speak English and information on the Internet was not in English. Some information on programs in Greenland was obtained from NWT and Nunavut persons who had travelled there and were familiar with their programs. Therefore the circumpolar regions that are discussed here in most detail are Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, northern Quebec, Labrador and Greenland.

In terms of New Zealand and Australia, there appears to be a fair amount of information on the Internet relating to alternative justice initiatives as they affect offenders and communities but little information on services to victims in these regions.

2.4.3 Remote Aboriginal Victim Services Program Descriptions

Circumpolar Regions

Alaska

In Alaska, victim services are largely offered through the State of Alaska Community Corrections offices. There are 13 Community Corrections offices in Alaska with Victims Services representatives in each location. In each of these 13 centres, there are also correctional institutions. In addition, the Alaska Department of Law, Department of Corrections, Probation Services, women’s shelters and Alaska State Police all offer specialized services to victims of crime. The State of Alaska has a constitutional amendment protecting victims’ rights and has recently passed a “Bill of Rights for Victims” which, according to the respondent, protects the rights of victims in terms of receiving information regarding their case, and giving them access to victim compensation programs.

Alaskan Victim Services workers at the Community Corrections offices offer the following services:

• a victim notification service through informational brochures and toll-free phone numbers, which give the status of offenders;
• help with pre-sentence Victim Impact Statements;
• assistance to victims applying for ‘front end’ financial compensation for injuries and property damage;
• education to communities about victim services, as well as about personal and community safety;
• help for communities to establish Victim Advisory Committees whose role is the direction of community victim services;
• establishment of Councils on Domestic Violence in small communities in an effort to raise public awareness about this crime;
• hosting monthly community interagency meetings related to community safety;
• delivering a ten-session, transportable victim impact program for offenders (which offenders are required to attend); and
• provision of videos to victims describing the court system and victim rights.

A restorative justice task force is currently looking for alternatives to the traditional, adversarial justice system in Alaska. In addition, attempts are underway to hire local indigenous community members as community constables. All these initiatives are supported by the Alaskan Native Corporations.

The legislative aspect of the Alaskan Victim Services program is described in more detail in section 2.4.4 “Best Practices in Victim Services” below.

Yukon

In the Yukon, each community has several 24-hour, on-call, RCMP-based Victim Assistance Volunteers. These volunteers are available to assist the RCMP with immediate support to victims of crime. As well, there are eleven Yukon Justice, Family Violence Prevention Unit, Victim Services Coordinators located in Whitehorse and two other communities, who offer the following services:

• helping victims navigate the criminal justice system in terms of laying charges, attending court, giving evidence and preparing a Victim Impact Statement;
• counselling and support prior to charges being laid with a focus on assisting the victim to avoid re-victimization through the development of a safety plan;
• providing referral to specialized professional services;
• providing follow-up service to victims and coordinating their work with the Victim/Witness coordinator in the Crown Attorney’s office;
• liaison between victims and territorial and federal correctional facilities;
• offering a treatment program for offenders, and assistance in planning post-charge diversion options for offenders; and
• training new Victim Services workers through a mentorship program.

The work of the Yukon Victim Services workers is enhanced by progressive legislation, “The Family Violence Prevention Act.” This legislation, described in detail in the “Best Practices” section, allows victimized individuals and families to request the removal from their home of violent people. It also protects their right to ongoing support from the government and restitution from the offender.

Northwest Territories (NWT)

Government of the NWT provides funding to community-based victim services in Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Hay River Fort Good Hope and Inuvik. NWT Victim Services workers offer information to victims, referral to support services, court preparation and the preparation of Victim Impact Statements. They take referrals from the RCMP as well as self-referrals. There are several volunteers associated with each program.

The NWT Victims Assistance Fund supports community-based projects and activities that provide services and assistance to victims of crime through:

• training
• direct services
• public awareness and information
• research and distribution of information.

As in other jurisdictions, there are a variety of support services for victims that do not fall within the mandate of the jurisdiction’s Department of Justice Victim Services program. In the NWT, both the Yellowknife Women’s Centre and the YWCA Women and Children’s Healing and Recovery Program are examples of effective victim services programs. Both are described in detail in the “Best Practices” section.

Labrador

In remote parts of Labrador, each community has an on-call Victim Services “para-professional.”^[31] These para-professionals work with victims on a part-time, as needed basis. Most communities in Labrador do not have probation officers, and several communities do not have resident RCMP, which makes the presence of a Victim Services worker more crucial. These workers are paid on a fee-for-service basis. Victims are referred by police and by regional Victim Services coordinators. They are also self-referred.

Victim Services para-professionals in Labrador help prepare Victim Impact Statements and show victims a video about the court process. They provide educational brochures in Aboriginal and Inuit languages. These Victim Services workers provide service in both the Innu and Inuit languages according to their own community. Many also work in one of the four women’s shelters in the Labrador coastal communities.

These workers report to regional Victim Services Coordinators in Happy Valley - Goose Bay and Nain, Labrador. Coordinators sometimes travel with the circuit court along the Labrador coast to provide additional service. All para-professionals, full-time workers and on-call staff in Labrador meet once a year for training and support. Victim Services workers in Labrador are not yet involved in recent restorative justice programs such as circle sentencing and community justice forums.

The “para-professional” component of Labrador’s program is described in more detail in the “Best Practices” section.

Northern Quebec

In Nunavik, the Inuit-occupied region of northern Quebec, all services are delivered through “Centres for Local Service.” These centres, comparable to Health Centres in the NWT and Nunavut, deliver all health and social service programming to the community.

However, there are three women’s shelters and the RCMP refer victims to available resources. Plans are underway for a new program to treat victims of sexual assault, and an Inuit addictions treatment program (described in detail in the “Best Practices” section) is fully operational.

Greenland

Greenland is part of Denmark although it has ‘home rule.’ NWT and Nunavut residents who have visited this island report that many criminal matters are handled through a non-adversarial “tribunal” system in which the judge, court officials, service providers, as well as the accused and the victim, participate as equals. Participants are encouraged to discuss the situation as it affects them. Victims may have an advocate present with them and a trained mediator conducts the hearing. All participants have input into sentencing.

Much like Nunavik (northern Quebec) social and health services for all residents, including victimized people, are delivered through a centralized community agency. Financial support is extended to the victimized person if the removal of the offender into a correctional facility will cause them financial hardship. According to informants, most people serving time in correctional facilities are required to pay for their stay in the facility and therefore work outside the facility during the day if their level of security clearance allows it.

Canadian Provinces

British Columbia

In northern and other remote areas of British Columbia, a variety of services and organizational structures have evolved to provide services to victims. The geography (isolation) of the community, along with the community’s particular relationship to local First Nations' governments, are the determining factors in the types of service offered. For example, in Williams Lake, the Caribou Tribal Council sponsors the Aboriginal Victim Services Program that, along with other services, offers sharing and healing circles to the extended family of victimized individuals, according to local healing traditions. In Dease Lake, the Three Sisters Haven Society offers victim services for both men and women, as well as a regional emergency shelter for women and children. They also work in cooperation with regional Tahltan, Tlingit and Kaska First Nations in the development of restorative justice initiatives.

Some victim services programs are police-based although the majority of services contacted for the purposes of this research are community-based. All programs, however, receive police, agency and self-referrals. All programs have paid staff, though some make extensive use of community volunteers to carry out their program.

The focus in all BC programs is the provision of support and information to victims of crime. Towards that end BC provincial victim services workers in remote locations offer the following services:

• Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing,^[32]
• preparation of Victim Impact Statements;
• preparation for court and liaison with Crown Victim/Witness Assistants;
• supportive counselling;
• transportation to women’s shelters;
• provision of offender information through the BC Corrections Branch;
• community education in the areas of family violence, suicide and sudden death; and
• in some locations, workers also offer sharing/healing circles and debriefing opportunities for the victim and his/her extended family.

In addition, BC Victim Services workers coordinate with Community Justice workers in the provision of restorative justice options for their region. In this regard, they prepare victims for family group conferencing and community justice forums. They also work closely with local Aboriginal justice programs and women’s shelters.

Victim Services programs in BC take a strong community development approach which gives the community the opportunity and skills to support victims, and offer a wide variety of services depending on local needs. They are closely tied into existing regional programs for both victims and offenders. An example of this approach, from northern BC, is contained in the “Best Practices” section.

Alberta

In Alberta, there is a network of police-based victims’ services programs which are largely reliant on volunteers. Community boards oversee these programs.

The Victim Services volunteers offer the following services:

• crisis intervention (aid in coping after victimization, transportation to women’s shelters, property repair, childcare, other transportation);
• home and business security (information package and on-site security check);
• information about the offender including case status, arrest status and pre-trial release information;
• assistance with Victim Impact Statements, restitution forms and financial benefits applications;
• referral (medical, mental health, counselling, social services, legal);
• court support (court orientation and information, witness preparation, court accompaniment, disposition information);
• Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing (similar to the program in BC discussed above);
• exhibit return (the return of the victim’s personal items used as exhibits during a trial);
• child witness preparation; and
• in some cases, Victim Services workers travel with RCMP and community police officers to the crime scene.

Several Victim Services programs are extensively involved in additional service provision as follows:

• facilitating pre-charge mediations between victims and offenders;
• offering community training in domestic violence;
• holding monthly community meetings on community safety; and
• sitting as members of local community justice committees.

As in BC, provincial victim services programs in remote areas of Alberta take a community development approach to service provision. One of these programs is described in more detail in the “Best Practices” section.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba

Department of Justice Victim Services workers in remote areas of Saskatchewan and Manitoba work in close cooperation with RCMP. Referrals from the RCMP are further referred to counselling, safe shelters and out patient alcohol treatment programs. In addition, Victim Services workers provide the following services:

• Victim Impact Statement preparation and support during court proceedings; and
• preparation of victims for alternate sentencing proceedings and a variety of community and First Nation justice initiatives such as circle sentencing sessions, family justice forums and victim/offender mediations.

Several programs in Saskatchewan and Manitoba have extensive experience in preparing victims for restorative justice processes. It appears that these alternate justice programs have been employed for a longer period of time in the prairie provinces than they have been elsewhere. A Victim Services program in Saskatchewan with extensive restorative justice experience is described in detail in the “Best Practices” section.

^[31] This term is used in Newfoundland/Labrador, and in other northern Canadian regions, to describe community-based people with some training who work under the supervision of a centralized office delivering services that might otherwise, in larger centres, be provided by persons with professional designations such as social workers or probation officers.

^[32] This process provides an opportunity to persons involved in, or witnesses to, traumatic events to discuss their feelings, reactions and thoughts about the event in question with a trained CISD listener.

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