Whereas Provincial Crown Counsel prosecutes offences and appeals in British Columbia that arise under Canadas Criminal Code and British Columbia statutes; And whereas collaborative approaches that address root causes of crime, such as mental illness and addictions, create effective and targeted responses by providing offenders with supports, services and ties to their community to promote rehabilitation and a crime-free lifestyle; And whereas the provincial government, through the implementation of coordinated initiatives such as communityintegrated court and addiction treatment centres, First Nations Health Councils and Integrated Case Assessment Teams, recognizes social and economic factors and the negative effects of reliance on established measures within the mainstream justice system: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Attorney General to improve capacity in the provincial court system by funding, province-wide, coordinated and collaborative alternatives to the court system.
Ministry of Attorney General and Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General Government recognizes that there is a need to move beyond the traditional justice system. Government is working with Indigenous partners, community members and other ministries to ensure increased support for vulnerable populations, including those involved in the criminal justice system because of their unmet health and housing needs. Specialized courts require additional supports such as dedicated staff, supportive housing availability, addictions programs and other social services and supports to be successful. For this reason, community proposals are reviewed by a cross-government provincial advisory committee, co-chaired by the Assistant Deputy Minister for Justice Services, the Co-Chair of the First Nations Justice Council, and the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court. Decisions around implementing new courts are made by the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court, in collaboration with the ministry and other justice partners. To address the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system, the ministry, in partnership with the First Nations Justice Council, has opened Indigenous Justice Centres IJCs in Merritt, Prince George and Prince Rupert. Up to 15 centres are planned for throughout B.C. in the coming years. IJCs provide legal advice and representation for criminal and child protection matters; advocacy and support in dealing with agencies such as the police and Ministry of Children and Family Development; referrals to relevant agencies and wraparound services such as counselling or employment support; information towards better transitions from jail and integration into the community; and restorative justice options to better support and address the needs of those impacted by a crime. The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General PSSG is committed to enhancing the use of restorative justice RJ and has engaged with a broad range of stakeholders to promote greater collaboration and dialogue about RJ across the province and have worked to identify opportunities to enhance its use in the province. PSSG has also provided support for a number of initiatives focused on enhancing RJ across BC, including supporting the development and implementation of an association for BCs community-based RJ programs. The ministry has provided funding to the Restorative Justice Association of BC to assist their efforts in providing support and advocacy for RJ programs and services across the province. The ministry also continues to increase its support for RJ programming through the Civil Forfeiture Crime Prevention and Remediation Grant Program. We provided over 1M to 33 RJ related projects through the grant program in fiscal 20202021 including funding for the development of a cross-sector advisory committee that will support this ministrys work in enhancing the use of RJ in BC. PSSG also currently supports community-based, volunteer-driven RJ programming through the Community Accountability Program CAP. There are currently 52 providing RJ related programming to communities across BC. CAPs are eligible for annual funding of up to 4,000 to support volunteer training and administrative expenses. CAPs have various capacity levels, with some programs using municipal funding to provide more complex and extensive RJ services. Some CAPs take on offences referred by Crown counsel. The BC Prosecution Service supports the use of RJ programs in appropriate cases including in alternative measures or extrajudicial sanctions and sentencing.