Recently I listened to a radio interview in which a high school principal described the beneficial outcomes of her school’s restorative justice approach to problems such as conflict and violence in her school. She reported that when students and their parents gain an understanding of each other and grasp their differing perspectives, then reconciliation and community building replace divisions. The interview caused me to reflect on my observations of community justice practiced in northern Canada, and of some situations I encounter as I speak with inmates at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre in Ontario.
In the small, isolated communities in the Northwest Territories and in Yellowknife, I observed how some criminal offenses were diverted from the courts to community justice committees. In Yellowknife I frequently sat as a member on such a committee. An offender considered eligible by the crown prosecutor and others would appear before the Justice Committee. Prior to the hearing committee members would review the police statement describing what had occurred and consider how we would proceed. Proceedings would then begin; the offender and persons whose lives he or she had impacted such as parents or friend of a teenager may be present. A police person, store owner, employer, property owner, or other person victimized by the offender might also attend the session.
In the hearings, members of the Justice Committee questioned the offender and all others present. The goal of the restorative justice program was to restore unity in the community. Attitudes of offenders changed as they learned of suffering their actions had caused for parents, employers, home owners and others. The attitudes of committee members and victims often softened as they observed changed perspectives in the offender, circumstances of his or her life, and regret for having caused hardship for others. The Community Justice Committee would then decide on whether to send an offender back to court to face charges or develop a plan for restitution and learning. This may include assigned reading and an essay, community service, or other remedy. When the offender completed the assigned actions charges would be dropped and the offender would avoid having a criminal record.
Prior to the advent of airplanes, electricity, phones, snowmobiles, RCMP, etc. in the far north, community was essential for survival; No one could survive alone, especially in the long winter months. Community members actively worked to bring about reconciliation and peace when harm occurred. Offenders who failed to change their ways were banished from the community and thereby rendered at risk of death. It is not surprising that restorative justice flourished in the north and evolved in modern times to community justice committees.
I wonder what it would take to change the focus of our justice system, to adopt restorative justice in appropriate cases in place of retributive justice. Is it possible for us to find ways of building unity and peace rather than using methods that deepen divisions among us?
- Sister Patricia McKeon, csj
Some related articles: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/opinion-eggleton-saint-germain-restorative-justice-1.4884839
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/restorative-justice-system-criminal-cases-youth-1.5213583
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/racist-facebook-posts-restorative-justice-1.4982510
https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2008-03-lmrj/2008-03-lmrj-eng.pdf