Letter to Denise Savoie (Joe Comartin and Jack Layton) on Restorative Justice

I was watching CPAC, and heard this statement. I almost immediately wrote this email and sent it off. Mrs. Savoie must have responded from her Blackberry, because 14 minutes later, I had a response.

Restorative Justice

Dear Mrs Savoie,

I was just watching the statement portion in the house of commons, and was listening to your statement on restorative justice. I'm a party member and active within the Guelph Riding Association, and have often felt that the NDP needs to take a more comprehensive approach to justice, as you mentioned.

As a Quaker, restorative justice has become a centre piece in the community, striving for reconciliation between offender, and victim.
For Friends (Quakers), the process represents a form of conflict resolution which speaks to the values of the community. As a Canadian, restorative justice demonstrates a way forward for building security in our society. More cops, more funding for punitive forms of crime handling simply do not make me feel more safe. However, from a strictly economic-conservative standpoint, we know that restorative justice practices save money, plain and simple. The revolving door which often occurs for offenders within the conventional punitive system is a major cost for every taxpayer!

'Phase Two Healthcare' endeavours to build a healthy population primarily on it's own merits: a healthy population is an ends in and of itself, and is desirable to Canadians. Secondarily, Phase Two Healthcare can translate into substantial cost savings for the public system, and is seen as a means of keeping the Healthcare system viable. I believe that we need a "Phase Two Justice" system, whereby "Phase One" deals with crime in it's extremes, apprehension of criminals, etc., while substantial effort is instilled within the "preventative" stream. Again, this is desirable as an ends unto itself, however it could also save our society from a bulky punitive system which is ultimately ineffective in ensuring stability and security in our communities.

Mrs. Savoie, I wanted to thank you for making your statement today. I hope that you continue on this and bring it forward with Joe Comartin (who is if I'm not mistaken the Justice critic).

Thank you,

Ravi Joshi