Announcements
Rick Craig Joins Governor General on State Visit
Rick Craig, the Justice Education Society’s executive director, was invited to be part of the Governor General’s State visit to Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica from December 6-15. Rick has been documenting the trip on the Governor General’s website.
He detailed Guatemala’s struggle with an extremely high level of violence and documented his experience speaking on a panel about the rights of indigenous women in Chiapas, Mexico. State visits by a governor general play an important role in Canada’s relations with other countries. They are the highest form of diplomatic contact, and they mark further developments in bilateral relations and exchanges among peoples.
Rick and other delegates on the trip interacted with their Mexican, Guatemalan and Costa Rican counterparts as well as played an active role in Their Excellencies’ meetings with civil society.
The Honourable Donald Brenner, Q.C. – Tribute Dinner
On January 21, a tribute dinner is being held for the recently-retired Honourable Donald Brenner, Q.C. The event is also a fundraiser; a portion of each ticket sold will be donated to the Justice Education Society and Pro Bono Law of BC/Western Canada Society to Access Justice. The night is hosted by The Canadian Bar Association - BC Branch, The Law Society of BC, UBC Law Alumni Association, and the Vancouver Bar Association. For more information, please contact Meghan Kavelman (604.646.7855).
We Can BC
This year’s “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence” ran from November 25 to December 10. The campaign kicked off with a press conference at the Vancouver Public Library and the launch of www.WeCanBC.ca, which was redesigned by the Justice Education Society. This year, the We Can BC campaign added several significant endorsers, including the City of Vancouver, the City of Burnaby and BC’s NDP caucus. Visit the website to register as a Change Maker and go to Facebook to show your support.
Court Visit – Online Booking System
On January 5, the Society will launch a new booking system at www.JusticeEducation.ca which will enable groups to book court visits online. At courthouses where the Society has regional coordinators, groups can participate in Court Orientations, Courtwatching and Mock Trials as well as sessions with judges, lawyers and other court personnel. In addition, through the Society’s Court Education Network, groups will be able to book their visit to a number of other BC courthouse locations. Visit our website in January to learn more and book your group’s court visit online.
Though the Heavens Fall
Produced by the Society in partnership with the Knowledge Network, Though the Heavens Fall will be broadcast on January 5 at 7pm as well as January 13 at 11pm. The film was produced to mark the 100th Anniversary of the BC Court of Appeal. The companion Teacher’s Guide will be distributed along with the DVD to Law 12 teachers in January. You can view a videoclip from the movie on the Knowledge Network’s website.
Legal Independence: It’s Your Right
Legal Independence: It’s Your Right, a new, free resource created by the Society and The Law Society of BC, has been extremely well-received. Global BC covered the publication’s launch at a Windsor Secondary Law 12 class and it was also featured in the Prince George Citizen.
Legal Independence: It’s Your Right uses real-life examples in an engaging, 10-minute video to help Civics 11, Social Studies 11 and Law 12 students understand the concepts of judicial and legal independence.
Both the resource video and teacher’s guide are available for free online as well as for order.
New Publication
The Society’s 2008-2009 Annual Report is now available. Last year saw many accomplishments and challenges. View the online PDF to learn more.
Project News
Being an Active Citizen
Schools throughout the Lower Mainland and Victoria are almost finished piloting Being an Active Citizen - a new resource that will better prepare students to be informed and engaged citizens in their communities. The pilots are being held in two elementary and 10 secondary schools in six school districts. More than 650 students in 23 classes will be providing their feedback.
Being an Active Citizen teaches Social Studies students in grades 7-11 about their important role as citizens. They learn about the structure and operation of government and their justice system while gaining experience with tools that can be used by active citizens, such as petitions, election ballots and letters to the editor. The pilots will end in early January and the final materials will be distributed to schools in Spring 2010. For more information, including how to write your own letter of support for the project, visit www.BCCitizenship.ca.
Children & Parents After Separation
Materials for the Children & Parents After Separation program are nearing completion. Pilots of the program, which will be offered as a whole-family alternative to our Parenting After Separation program, begin on February 6. The program includes information for children, youth and parents about the ways in which children and youth respond to a parental separation or divorce, their age-specific needs as well as how to communicate with and support them. If you are a facilitator and would like to lead the program’s sessions, contact Margarita Virata Santos (604.660.5123) for more information. Parents who would like to register for the pilot sessions can contact 604.660.9870.
Teachers’ Law Institute
On November 17 the Society’s Lower Mainland West office hosted a Teachers’ Law Institute. Sixteen teachers learned about a variety of law-related topics, including drug treatment and the Downtown Community Court. The participants also went courtwatching and had much meaningful dialogue between the panels of provincial court judges, Crown and Defense Counsel and other justice system personnel.
Supreme Court BC
The Society has started work on a project to provide public legal education regarding the upcoming rule changes at the Supreme Court of BC. In May, the Society will publish a series of Self-Help Guidebooks that will describe the new process for civil matters at the Supreme Court, which will be introduced in June. In addition, a website and instructional videos will be launched at SupremeCourtBC.ca.
Downtown Community Court
The Society has almost finished producing three informative videos on Vancouver’s Downtown Community Court. Celebrating its first year in operation, the court takes a problem-solving approach to dealing with offenders who have issues with health, homelessness, and drug addition. The videos will be published at the end of January at www.CommunityCourt.bc.ca
Immigrant PLEI Consortium
The Immigrant Public Legal Education & Information (PLEI) Consortium has held five Cross-Sectoral Workshops throughout the Lower Mainland. These workshops focused on bringing together representatives from PLEI agencies, legal service providers, settlement agencies, government services, and community organizations to identify service gaps and opportunities as well as strategies and activities that would improve PLEI delivery in the areas of employment law and residential tenancy law.
The PLEI Consortium is a two-year pilot project that will design a model for more effective delivery of PLEI for immigrants in Metro Vancouver so that they can better address their legal needs and have a better awareness of core Canadian legal values. The project is a collaborative partnership between 12 organizations with Justice Education Society as the lead agency. For more information contact the project manager, Sandra Wilking (778.968.3732).
Training of Trainers on Crime Scene Investigation in Guatemala
After the successful implementation of Phases One and Two of the Building Effective Justice Systems Project in Guatemala, October 5-17 marked the project’s beginning in El Salvador and Honduras. A Phase One - Crime Scene Investigation course on evidence collection and participation in real crime scenes was held for 18 professional prosecutors, police and investigators. This “Training of Trainers” begins a replication process whereby these 18 participants will now return to their countries and train their colleagues in these learned skills.
Strengthening the Judicial Sector in Vietnam
The Society’s international department is working as a contractor on a Judicial Development and Grassroots Engagement Project in Vietnam. The project is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, implemented by Agriteam Canada, and is working in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and Supreme People’s Court in Vietnam. The project’s main goal is to strengthen Vietnam’s judicial sector capacity in support of more transparent and accountable governance.
It’s Time Screenings
In November, 216 people attended two screenings of JES International’s stunning documentary It’s Time: African Women Join Hands Against Violence at the Diverse Voices Conference in Edmonton. The Diverse Voices Conference is one of the largest of its kind in Western Canada for those who provide services to people experiencing family violence and the It’s Time documentary was referenced by the key note speaker in her address. It’s Time tells how the unique partnership between the Society and two African organizations is working to combat an epidemic of domestic violence in Ethiopia and South Africa.
Staff News
Jerusha Renteria, the Spanish Court Worker for the Court Information Program for Immigrants (CIPI), has left the Society. We will miss her sense of humour, enthusiasm and dedication to helping make BC’s court accessible for immigrants.
The Society welcomes Miriam Morgan as the CIPI program’s new Spanish Court Worker. She will be based at the Vancouver Provincial Court (222 Main Street, Vancouver).
Anna Wiebe, the Society’s Receptionist/Administrative Assistant, has also left. Anna’s teamwork, professionalism and organization skills will be missed.
The Society also welcomes Kathryn Rose as our new Receptionist/Administrative Assistant. Kathryn’s positive attitude and experience working in the non-profit sector will no doubt ensure a smooth transition for her.