Welcome to the Vancouver Island Region Restorative Justice Association (VIRRJA) website. 

There are many restorative justice and conflict resolution programs and practitioners in the area defined as Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada.   This organization was formed in the spring of 2009 to unite those programs under one umbrella organization and give restorative justice a 'voice' when dealing with common concerns and to provide a venue for finding information necessary to form a similar program in your community.

Restorative Justice is a concept for the criminal justice system that has rapidly gained acceptance and support throughout British Columbia and Canada.  It is an alternative to the current way of thinking about crime and criminal justice.  Restorative justice emphasizes the ways in which crime harms the community, not as a violation of state.   The restorative justice models make the offender accountable to the victim and the community.  Accountability for offenders is defined in terms of taking responsibility for their actions and repairing the harm caused to the victim and the community.  It provides for immediate, active participation by the victim, the offender and the community in the process of repairing the fabric of community peace.

As we are in formative stage, if there is anything you would like to see on this website, please let us know.  Your input is valuable to us.  

You can contact any of the VIRRJA Executive at the address below:

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Contact Information:   VIRRJA@ymail.com