Restorative Opportunities Program

Offers people who have been harmed by a crime, either directly or indirectly, a chance to communicate with the offender who caused the harm. Participation is voluntary for everyone concerned. The program explores opportunities to use victim-offender mediation that suit the needs of the participants, as defined by the participants, with the help of a professional mediator. Victim-offender mediation is a process through which a trained community-based mediator prepares interested victims and offenders to communicate, and provides them with the opportunity to meet in a safe, structured setting. During these meetings, participants can tell their story, explain to the offender the crime's physical, emotional, and financial impact on their lives, explore unanswered questions about the crime and the offender, and participate directly in developing options to try to address the harms caused, where possible. Offenders are afforded opportunities to provide information and to gain insights that contribute to their accountability and personal growth. Services provided by the program are available to registered victims, victim representatives acting on behalf of registered victims, and non-registered victims impacted by the crime.