Restorative Justice

Restorative Justice Week 2007 - "Facing the Questions"

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to share with you that "Facing the Questions" is this year's theme for Restorative Justice Week 2007, which will be held November 18 - 25, 2007. This is a timely theme that will help identify and answer some of the many questions that those currently and potentially involved in restorative justice face, such as:

• Is a restorative justice approach a hard or a soft approach to crime?
• Does participating in a restorative justice process take away my right to a fair and just due process?
• Can there be a restorative justice process if there is no victim, or no offender identified?
• What can I do as a caring citizen to promote restorative justice resolutions or be more restorative in my own life?
• How do we work better together for positive outcomes?
• How do I contact others to share interests or best approaches?
• Where can I find resources to help build a better foundation based on principles, values and practices?

We Can All Help

This year, we will collaborate with current and hopefully new partners to develop an on-line tool kit that asks and answers these and other key questions. We need you to help foster a collaborative and comprehensive approach, so please send your Restorative Justice questions to restorativejustice@csc-scc.gc.ca.

Our circle of community partners is always expanding, and together, we seek to take action in addressing the many questions we face as we seek to continuously strengthen the restorative justice paradigm. Our goal is always to ensure that this living, growing, and dynamic movement is based on sound principles, values and initiatives that challenge Canadians to consider more creative approaches.

That's why this "Facing Questions" theme builds so nicely onto last year's theme of "Creative Partnerships, Creative Action". Our common vision of "a safe and healthy restorative justice process" means that we can build restorative communities anywhere and everywhere: in our homes, neighbourhoods, schools, communities, places of worship, villages, towns, cities, provinces and countries.

So you are invited, and encouraged to start now to help build success by:

• forming your local event planning committee early, for the Restorative Justice Week November 18 to 25, 2007
• sending in your restorative justice questions that will help furnish the on-line toolkit
• challenging yourself, and others to contemplate, and then create restorative justice solutions to the more difficult issues we face

Let's keep building together, to reach our common goals.

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

Terry Richardson
Director General
Chaplaincy & Restorative Justice