Recent Justice Canada Research Documents

The Government of Canada Publications Weekly Acquisitions List can be a great way to discover new research reports published by various public bodies and agencies of the federal government.

Here are three Justice Canada publications from the most recent list:

• Shifting the paradigm : exploring opportunities for community justice help : a review of access to justice literature and activity: "This report provides a review of recent developments in regulatory action and program activity aimed at improving access to justice through assistance provided by nonlawyers in community-based not-for-profit settings. We call this type of assistance “community justice help”. The purpose of this report is to explore and identify the potential for supporting and expanding the roles for community justice help in Canada. The primary focus of our review is Canada, but recent developments in comparative jurisdictions are also considered. The report identifies some relevant regulatory action with potential to expand the scope for non-lawyer roles in general and community justice help more particularly. It also identifies a significant level of program activity in the realm of community justice help."
• Section 19 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act : a look at the use of conferences across Canada: "The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) came into force on April 1, 2003 to assist in reducing the notably high Canadian youth custody rate. The YCJA promotes youth rehabilitation and reintegration into society through diversion from the formal justice system and greater community involvement in responding to youth crime. It also promotes responsibility and accountability through measures that are proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and the youth’s stage of development. In support of these goals, section 19 of the YCJA introduced conferences as a means to assist both decision makers and youth involved in the criminal justice system (CJS). Section 19 conferences provide an opportunity for various professionals and stakeholders, including the young person concerned and their family, to come together to discuss the matter in a more informal setting in order to formulate recommendations about the young person’s case. Despite the introduction of section 19 conferences almost 20 years ago, there has been little information gathered on the extent of their use, how they are being conducted, and the associated outcomes. In 2020, the Department of Justice Canada undertook a national survey to fill this knowledge gap (...) . Many aspects of section 19 conferences were examined, including: Extent of use of conferences; Purposes and processes of conferences; Benefits of conferences; Challenges of conferences; and Data collection, evaluations and impact assessments." 
• Panel Discussion Report: Indigenous and Restorative Justice Approaches: "Justice Canada, in collaboration with the Indigenous and Restorative Justice subcommittee of the Federal Provincial Territorial (FPT) Restorative Justice Working Group (RJWG), hosted a virtual panel discussion on February 15, 2022. This event was designed to support future discussions at the National Restorative Collaborative Learning Conference (NRCL Conference) to occur in October 2022. A theme of the conference will include the potential for justice transformation to address systemic racism, the legacies of colonialism and to work toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples through an increased use of restorative justice (RJ)."