Justice and Public Safety
November 22, 2017

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Andrew Parsons, Minister of Justice and Public Safety:

Minister Parsons Recognizes Restorative Justice Week

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House to recognize November 19 to 26 as Restorative Justice Week. Last week, I was joined by my colleagues from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, and Children, Seniors and Social Development and the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women at an event with our stakeholders in proclaiming this week and showing our support for this important initiative. I am also pleased to be a part of a panel discussion this evening that will explore the use of restorative justice approaches to address challenges in the province’s education and legal systems.

Mr. Speaker, restorative justice focuses on addressing the harm caused by crime while holding the offender responsible for his or her actions. It provides an opportunity for the parties directly affected by crime – victims, offender and community – to identify and address their needs.

Mr. Speaker, this government strongly believes in restorative justice and recognizes we need to find innovative ways to address the numbers of people incarcerated, to look at why they are incarcerated and to determine how to reduce the risk of reoffending.

The Department of Justice and Public Safety has been exploring initiatives such as the drug treatment court, bail supervision and adult diversion to keep people out of court, address access to justice matters and improve peoples’ interactions with the justice system.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all Honourable members to join me in acknowledging Restorative Justice Week and I look forward to continuing this important work with my colleagues and stakeholders.

Thank you.

2017 11 22                              2:20 p.m.