Mission, Vision and Values
Mission
Vision
Values
The Community Justice Centre (CJC) is a volunteer-powered non-profit that uses restorative justice principles and practices to support peacemaking and the resolution of conflicts for the community. This is achieved through resolution conferences, dialogue, and education.
CJC envisions a safe, inclusive, resilient, and peaceful community - a community committed to respectful dialogue, compassion, and accountable and positive transformation.
Community
We recognize we are interconnected and are committed to taking care of each other.
Human dignity
We work to treat everyone with respect, support, and inclusion. We believe that people make mistakes and that is not all of who they are, and that each person has intrinsic value.
Reducing and repairing harm
We believe dialogue, compassion, equity, and accountability lead to more peaceful co-existence.
Growth
Through respectful curiosity, communication, and shared learning we strengthen our humanity, humility, and connection to one another.
The values of the Community Justice Centre are applied to both external and internal relationships
We recognize that we live on the unceded territory of K'ómoks First Nations. We acknowledge the impact of colonization and strive to incorporate decolonization into our work.
History
In the fall of 1995, Comox Valley delegates learned about restorative justice ideas at the annual convention of Family Court and Youth Justices Committees of British Columbia. They returned home excited and motivated. Soon after, they met with other community members who were aware of developments in this field and formed a group to explore the possibility of bringing restorative justice to the Valley.
By September 1996, the group had carried out wide-ranging research and organized a meeting of justice system professionals to review the resources available in the Comox Valley for persons in conflict with the law.
By April 1997, the group had developed a proposal outlining the steps for establishing a forum for applying restorative justice principles in the Comox Valley.
Throughout the summer of 1997, the group held further discussions with community service agencies and programs. That fall they formed a sub-committee that arranged a community conference on the possibility of establishing a community justice program and fifty-two organizations were represented at the conference.
As a result of the encouraging response to the conference, a steering committee of volunteers was established. The steering committee developed a process that would enable those who had been hurt by others to meet face-to-face with those who had caused the hurt in a safe, neutral environment within the community.
In July 1998, the Community Justice Centre of the Comox Valley Society was registered under the Societies Act of British Columbia and recognized as a charity under the Income Tax Act of Canada. In September 1998, the Community Justice Centre moved into an office, received its first case, and began officially operating.