Alberta to scrap restorative justice grant

Alberta to scrap restorative justice grant

"EDMONTON - A provincial grant program that has helped bring together criminal offenders and their victims to discuss the effects of crime is slated to be cut next year.

The Solicitor General and Public Security department on Monday confirmed its annual $351,000 grant for restorative justice programs will be axed in the 2012-2013 fiscal year. The program has been in place since 2004 and is part of the department’s $678-million overall budget.

The grant money has funded almost a dozen organizations in the province annually. The organizations have worked to bring together a variety of offenders — including convicted killers and teenagers who have committed break-and-enters — with their victims. Some organizations also apply the techniques to non-criminal conflicts, such as schoolyard disputes.

The general goal is to have both sides meet, discuss the effects of a crime, and agree on what might repair the harm caused by the commission of an offence.

The decision to cut the grant program was made in “challenging economic times,” said Patrick Mears, a spokesman for the solicitor general’s department. It does not appear that other programs are slated to be cut from the department’s next budget, he said.

Those who work in restorative justice say their programs benefit offenders, victims, and the larger community.

For victims of crime, the meetings “help answer the question of ‘Why me?’” said Jan Moran, co-ordinator for the Alberta Restorative Justice Association. For offenders, the benefit comes in seeing the true effects of their crimes and recognizing what they must change to avoid reoffending.

“I believe it’s such a good program for crime prevention,” Moran said. “It’s going to be one less option for people to have.”

Moran said her organization, an umbrella group for 34 agencies, is scheduled to meet with the solicitor general’s department next month. She was surprised by the decision to cut the grant program and thought the programs had solid support from the government.

“We thought were starting a bit of a groundswell and now we’re back at the stream,” she said.

Funding from the department has been critical for smaller organizations to run their restorative justice programs, while bigger organizations might be able to make up for the lack of grant money in other areas, Moran said."