Who We Are

"Restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on repairing the harm caused by crime while holding the offender responsible for his or her actions, by providing an opportunity for the parties directly affected by the crime - victim(s), offender and community - to identify and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime, and seek a resolution that affords healing, reparation and reintegration, and prevents future harm."

Dr. Robert Cormier, Public Safety Canada, 2002

The Collaborative Justice Program began September 1, 1998 as a demonstration project at the Ottawa Provincial Courthouse. The Program was inititally sponsored by the Church Council on Justice and Corrections (CCJC). CCJC is a national, ecumenical, bilingual charitable organization mandated to assist churches and communities to reflect on and more deeply engage issues in the field of criminal justice.

The purpose of the pilot was to demonstrate that the application of a restorative approach in cases of serious adult or youth crime, would provide for a more satisfying experience of justice for all parties involved, for the victim(s), offender(s) and the community. We recognize that serious crime usually involves a greater degree of impact and therefore contributes to a greater need for a restorative approach.

Though the Program's priority will always be the more serious cases, CJP has evolved over the past 14 years to allow the acceptance of post-charge/pre-sentence cases, adult and youth, regardless of level of seriousness.

We work with adult or youth cases where:

• the accused has accepted responsibility for the harm done and has a desire to make amends, and
• the victim is interested in participating in a reparative process

 CJP offers individual support to those affected by crime as the criminal justice process unfolds. The Caseworker supports victims in identifying and addressing their needs while ensuring that the offender understands the impact of his/her behaviour. It provides opportunities for both parties, if they desire, to work together on healing and resolution.

Referrals to the Program come from a number of sources including Judges, Crown Attorneys, Defence Counsel, Police and Probation Officers. Individuals may contact the Program to see if their particular case meets CJP's criteria for acceptance.

  

Board of Directors

Peter Bishop, President

Peter Bishop is a lawyer and mediator in private practice in Ottawa since 1978. He has participated as instructor, coach and skills assessor in many mediation and dispute resolution training programs. As instructor of the undergraduate course in Mediation (Laws 3006) at Carleton University for many years, his involvement with Carleton criminology students has fostered a great interest and belief in restorative justice and victim-offender mediation. So, when the Collaborative Justice Program became an independent non-profit corporation in April 2011, he was delighted to become a CJP Board Member and be able to work to expand the use of restorative justice practices in our community and justice system.

 

Jane Griffiths, Past President

 

Tiffani Murray, Vice-President

Tiffani graduated University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts, and Dalhousie University's Schulich Law School with a Juris Doctor. She practiced Criminal Defence for a couple years before moving to the Collaborative Justice Program, where she loved her work and colleagues for eight wonderful years (until funding was cut). She currently practices Labour Law with the Public Service Alliance of Canada. She has a husband, a dog, and a cat and loves them all, but not in that particular order, depending on the day.

 

Trevor Brown, Vice-President

 

Diane McCusker, Secretary

 

Serge Stewart

Sgt. Serge Stewart is a serving member of the RCMP with 26 years of federal policing experience. Although Serge is currently posted to Headquarters in Ottawa, he has also had the privilege of living and working to serve Canadians in Manitoba, Ontario and the Yukon Territory. His broad range of policing expertise has brought him to every province and territory for active duty. In addition to his service to Canadians, Serge has also had the honour of representing Canada through the United Nations as part of the RCMP contingent on three international peace operations including former Yugoslavia in 1994, The Ivory Coast in 2005 and Haiti in 2008. Serge’s experience with the restorative justice system was gained through his duties as a general duty police officer in both Manitoba and the Yukon where he had the opportunity to work regularly with various restorative justice programs at the community and provincial levels.