Alberta considers legislation for upcoming provincewide restorative justice program

The Alberta governmentis consideringlegislation to support a future restorative justice program toease pressure on the court system.

Launched in March, a provincial strategy aims toembed 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."

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Restorative justice offers an alternativeto 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 benefitsinclude 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," Justice Minister Tyler Shandrosaid in a media release in March.

'Keep it simple'

One Alberta communityleading 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 co-ordinator, 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," Flamandsaid.

"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 ofvictim and offender reconciliation, Flamand said Bigstone'sunique approachis based on Indigenous legal principles rooted in kinship and guided by love, compassion and empathy.

The offender's healing plan, developed in consultation with apanel 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 firstthe offender and then the family, which in turn affects the community," Flamand said. "Love can heal anything."

Bigstone's program isfunded by federal and provincial grants. Flamand said that from January until August of this year, she received more than 100 referrals from Crown prosecutors, RCMP, judges, probation officers and schools.

"We are trying to meet the needs of many on a skimpy budget," she said."We need more money, we need more workers."

She called for consistent funding that communities canaccess whenever they are ready.

The province says its restorative justice funding model is currently under review. Since 2018, grants totalling $720,000 havebeenavailable to organizations, as well as$350,000 for youth justice committees.

One of the grant recipients is theIslamic Family Social Services Association (IFSSA), which holdsgatherings that help community members heal in the wake of escalating hate crimes.

"Every time a hate crime happens in the community, there's vicarious trauma, immediate trauma, that happens," said Omar Yaqub, executive director of IFSAA.

"The restorative justice methodologies are reallyaligned with our faith tradition,and offer anavenue for people to process the difficulties they'reexperiencing in a way that's more healthy and productive."

The province isconsultingwith restorative justice service providers and Indigenous justice providers and exploring service delivery models from Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Montanaand New Zealand.