Alberta considers legislation for upcoming province-wide restorative justice program
CBC
The Alberta government is considering legislation to support a future restorative justice program to ease pressure on the court system.
Launched in March, a provincial strategy aims to embed restorative justice into the existing justice system.
"In the development of Alberta's restorative justice strategy, the necessity of new legislation to support restorative justice is being explored," Alberta Justice spokesperson Jason Maloney wrote in an email to CBC News.
"This strategy will provide supports to victims, communities, offenders, and justice stakeholders so that restorative justice becomes a service accessible to all Albertans."
Restorative justice offers an alternative to sentencing. Those involved in the dispute meet with a facilitator to map out a path to repair the harm done to the victim and community.
Proven benefits include healing affected communities, empowering victims and reduced recidivism, the province says.
"Restorative justice not only provides Albertans who want to participate in the process with better outcomes, it reduces the need to use traditional court resources to address legal issues," Tyler Shandro, Minister of Justice, said in a media release in March.
One Alberta community leading the way with its own brand of restorative justice, called transformative justice, is Bigstone Cree Nation, 320 kilometres north of Edmonton.
Led by Helen Flamand, special initiatives coordinator, since 2016 the program has expanded to Wabasca, Calling Lake, Big Lakes and Edmonton. Flamand says she thinks restorative justice works best without bureaucracy.
"I would tell governments to stay out of the way and let communities take the lead and let us do restorative justice as we see fit," Flamand said.
"Anytime you take a bureaucratic approach to any type of healing model as it relates to justice, things get complicated. Keep it simple so that the healing can take place without all that type of bureaucratic red tape that people have to move through."
Unlike the provincial model of victim and offender reconciliation, Flamand said Bigstone's unique approach is based on Indigenous legal principles rooted in kinship and guided by love, compassion and empathy.
The offender's healing plan, developed in consultation with a panel of elders, aims to get them back on a good path by addressing the underlying causes of criminality whether its racism, trauma, poverty or mental health issues.
"We see a lot of good turnaround with our clients, with our community. So we look at healing first — the offender and then the family, which in turn affects the community," Flamand said. "Love can heal anything."
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