March 27 - Province banking on restorative justice

Good morning !

Sidney has an interesting piece this morning on restorative justice. Unlike the traditional justice system which punishes the wrongdoer, restorative justice addresses the needs of the victim and focuses on repairing damage and restoring relationships.

Pretty cool, I say.

— Mark

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

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NEWS

Restorative Justice Victoria gets a significant boost from the province

The provincial government is allocating $3M to various restorative justice programs across the province, including Restorative Justice Victoria (RJV), which will get $550K over three years. 

Gaining in popularity across the country, restorative justice is a method of justice in which the victim and perpetrator communicate with each other to mend the harm that’s been committed and address its root causes.

While the criminal justice system deals with offenders, restorative justice focuses on the needs of victims and the community, holding offenders accountable for the harm they cause. It can result in financial compensation, apologies, or community service, often through third-party mediation or peace circles. VicPD collaborates closely with RJV, referring numerous cases to the organization every year.

Established in 2002, RJV is a leader in the field and receives case referrals from diverse sources from within and outside the justice system. The funding will enable RJV to maintain its current staff and launch its Responding to Sexualized Violence Program. 

Read Sidney Coles’ full story here. 

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Man missing since Mar. 14. Kielan Hall, 23, was last seen near Cooper and Admirals. [Saanich Police]

This man, Michael Moynihan, 41, has been missing since Sunday, from Tofino. [RCMP]

Holiday facility and parking hours for this weekend in Victoria.

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

COMMUNITY

Trash to treasure: Victoria fashion brand makes use of ocean plastic waste

There’s no question ocean plastic has become a major problem in Island waters and worldwide—microplastics have been found throughout the Salish Sea food chain, the Pacific Garbage Patch continues to grow, and there have been hundreds of reports of sea lions entangled in plastic on BC’s coast.

While work has been done to get plastic out of the ocean, where it ends up after removal continues to be a problem without a solution. This is the issue that Victoria clothing brand ANIÁN looks to address in its partnership with the Ocean Legacy Foundation, a non-profit that removes plastic from the ocean. They’ve teamed up to create buttons made entirely of recycled oyster trays found in the Salish Sea.

The partnership started when ANIÁN founder Paul Long and Ocean Legacy’s co-founder Chloé Dubois began to discuss how ocean waste could be utilized in clothing. Could ghost nets be made into shopping bags? Fishing lines into thread?

What they found was not every material was suited to a new life in textiles. But black plastic oyster trays, found in the water near Denman Island, were an ideal replacement for virgin plastics typically used to make buttons.

Read Robyn Bell’s full story here about the partnership working to make ocean waste wearable.

TASTING VICTORIA AWARDS

Just a couple weeks left to vote!

More than 2,000 locals have voted for the city’s best restaurants. Make sure to cast your votes to give your favourite local restaurant some love!

⭐️ Capital Picks

🩰 Dance Victoria presents audience favourite Ballets Jazz Montréal which will perform a mixed contemporary dance program at the Royal Theatre on April 26 and 27.*

🐳 Orca in the sky. Cool cloud in Port Alberni. [Photo]

📅 Save the date: Two great events over two amazing weekends! "Meet the Makers" artisan market on April 7, and Kidovate Youth Market on April 13 at the Bay Centre. Plan your visit today!*

*Sponsored Listing

🗞️ In Other News

Mysterious late-night noise heard in Esquimalt
Residents say they’ve heard it roughly twice a week for several weeks. They say it sounds like a car crash combined with fireworks exploding. It’s intermittent and loud and may be coming from a construction site. Sunday’s racket had Esquimalt and Vic firefighters checking things out but coming up empty. [Times Colonist]

Watch out for fake BC government payment website
Someone has created a website identical to the PayBC site, where people pay for provincial services. The site phishes for credit card and other personal information. There is also a component that involves texts saying the province’s automated system has caught vehicles speeding, directing the recipient to pay on the fake website. The province doesn’t use such a system. [CTV / CP]

Update: Orphaned baby orca cries for dead mom that was pregnant
The 14-year-old Biggs Killer Whale since determined to have been pregnant, died Sat. after being stranded in the shallow waters of an inlet near Zeballos, approximately 460km north of Tofino. At last reporting, her two-year-old calf remained in the same lagoon, crying out for her. Rescuers may play a recording of another orca whose voice the calf may recognize, hoping it follows the sound to open water. [CHEK]

$14M for new Cowichan Lake weir in BC’s anti-drought funding
The province is funding the Cowichan Tribes’ replacement of the 74-year-old weir with a higher one. It will let the lake store more water to release in droughts such as last summer’s, which almost dried up the Cowichan River.

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🗓️ Things to do

🎵 The Marriage of Figaro. Pacific Opera Victoria presents the Mozart classic for four performances. Royal Theatre. Starts April 3. [Info]

🍾 Bottle drive: For Wounded Warriors. Victoria Lions Club & CFB Esquimalt Firefighters. Lumberworld parking lot on Quadra/Reynolds. Saturday. 9:30am-3pm. [Info]

🩰 ÕKĀREKA Dance Company: See the contemporary Indigenous Māori/Aotearoa dance company at the McPherson Playhouse. Tonight. 7:30pm. [Info]

🎤 Smut Slam: Settle in for an evening of lust-filled storytelling at the Victoria Event Centre. Tonight. 7pm. [Info]

🎶 Tom Vickery Trio: See the musicians perform a relaxed evening of jazz and enjoy a cocktail at Hermann’s. Tonight. 7pm. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Monday headlines: Van-Isle Construction Assoc. wins national award; No charges in teen’s tragic 2022 party death; Strange jelly-fishish creature spotted near Clover Point; And more. [March 26]

Victoria woman forced by doctors to inject medicine she says is harmful. [Capital Daily]

Humpback whale numbers have fallen 20% since 2012. [CBC]

Kelowna woman has cat cloned—twice. [CTV]

Under the sea: Sculpins and urchins photographed by divers near Sheringham Lighthouse. [Photos]

That’s it!

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