Lower Mainland Community of Restorative Practice

Inaugural Meeting

Purpose of Information Collection

Your responses will be collected anonymously and shared with the planning committee to help us reflect on the Community of Restorative Practice and improve future sessions. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback — it is genuinely valued.

Schedule

  • Welcome, housekeeping, intentions for the Community of Practice, overview of agenda.

  • The Values Connection Activity & Community Guidelines portion will help participants build relationships, identify shared values, and establish agreements that support a respectful and inclusive learning environment. Through discussion and reflection, participants will co-create community guidelines that foster trust, engagement, and meaningful participation throughout the training.

  • Participants rotate partners and discuss three reflection questions moving from lighter reflection to deeper discussion.

    • A value that is important to me in RJ practice is…

    • One challenge I have as a practitioner is…

    • How I hold the humanity of those I am in conflict with or challenged by…..

  • Lunch will be provided by Guli’s Kitchen, a family-owned African–Indian fusion restaurant in Burnaby known for its fresh, flavourful dishes.

  • Case Scenario: Family Identity and Generations

    The Okafor family immigrated to Canada twelve years ago. Their home holds many layers of identity: Nigerian, Igbo, Canadian, Christian, diasporic, intergenerational. Some of these layers sit comfortably together. Others can rub against each other in ways that no one quite knows how to name.

    Chinwe (31) lives at home while working and helping care for her father, Emeka (67), whose health has been slowly declining. Her younger cousin, Tari (22), recently moved in after arriving from overseas to attend school. The household is full again; full of movement, expectations, full of unspoken rules.

    The conflict began quietly. Chinwe felt stretched thin between work, caregiving, and the emotional labour of holding the household together. Tari struggled with the adjustment to a new country and a new family rhythm. Emeka, once the firm center of the family, now felt his authority slipping as his health changed.

    One evening, a disagreement about household responsibilities escalated. Tari made a comment that Chinwe experienced as deeply disrespectful. Chinwe raised her voice. Tari raised his. Emeka stepped in, insisting on being heard, and the room filled with escalating angry voices.

    In the heat of the yelling, Tari shoved a chair aside, and it struck Emeka’s leg. The room went still. A neighbour heard the shouting and called the police. Officers arrived, spoke briefly with the family, and after confirming that Emeka had been struck, filed a report. Because the incident met the threshold for a minor assault charge, the case was forwarded to the local restorative justice program.

    You and your co‑facilitator have now been assigned the file. The referral notes mention “family conflict” but offers little detail. You enter the first preparation meetings knowing that the incident is only the surface of a deeper story: one shaped by migration, shifting roles, and cultural expectations.

  • Discussion of takeaways, future session topics, and next steps.