Whereas the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General has commissioned two reports, A Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century and Getting Serious About Crime Reduction: Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Crime Reduction, that make recommendations about restorative justice; And whereas the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General provides approximately 11 million to victim assistance programs and approximately 150 thousand to restorative justice services and programs that have been in operation in British Columbia without provincial or federal operational funding since March 1998; And whereas restorative justice is now identified in the changes to the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, Statutes of Canada, 2015, c. 13, 5.2: Every victim has the right, on request, to information about ... b the services and programs available to them as a victim, including restorative justice programs ... : Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General provide operational funds for restorative justice services and programs to bring parity with victim assistance programs so that restorative justice services and programs can meet the rights and needs of victims of crime as defined in the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights.
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General Through the Community Accountability Program, the Provincial Government provides funding to community-based restorative justice programs to support volunteer training, volunteer recognition and to offset administrative costs. In addition, programs may be eligible for enrollment in the Provinces Master Insurance Program. The Provincial Government has also supported the delivery of responsive and effective community-based restorative justice approaches in BC by providing funding for restorative justice service providers through Civil Forfeiture and Crime Remediation funds, totaling 786,376 since 2012. In March 2016, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General announced Civil Forfeiture and Crime Remediation funding for an advanced training initiative for contracted Community Accountability Programs delivered in partnership with the Community Justice Initiatives Association. The training goals include ensuring consistent, quality service delivery taking into account victims needs and to increase collaboration between programs. In addition, the Ministry funded ten projects around the province that increase capacity to accept referrals of increased diversity and complexity, with a focus on being responsive to victims. The Ministry has made efforts to be responsive to the Canadian Victim Bill of Rights section 6 b: Every victim has the right, on request, to information about the services and programs available to them as a victim, including restorative justice programs. Accordingly, we have provided a full list of restorative justice programs funded by our Ministry on our website at http:www2.gov.bc.caassetsgovpublic-safety-and-emergency-servicescrime-p…, which is readily accessible to the public, in addition to being responsive to any direct inquiries we receive from victims.