Achieving Restorative Justice in the Extra-Judicial Sanctions Program: Working with Racialized Immigrant Youth
Abstract
This doctoral thesis looks at the experiences of racialized immigrant youth who are referred to the Extra-Judicial Sanctions (EJS) program in Calgary, Alberta. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Institutional Ethnography (IE) as the frameworks for the project, I investigated the impact of societal and textual discourses around racialized immigrant youth in the EJS process. As the EJS program is mandated by the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), which provides the opportunity for restorative justice (RJ), I question whether or not this potential for RJ is achieved within the program. This is especially as the Calgary Youth Justice Society (CYJS) aims to reconnect youth with their larger community in their practice of administering the EJS program. Within the context of official multiculturalism in Canada, which is one that upholds a neo-liberal, colour-blind approach to justice, I argue that this approach has the potential to further distance racialized immigrant groups that may already be marginalized in society. By investigating the experiences of racialized immigrant youth and the family members who are referred to the EJS program, as well as documenting the challenges faced by those who administer the program, I challenge societal understandings of multiculturalism and belonging based on race-neutral ideas. Rather, I suggest that what is needed are colour-conscious, anti-racism, pro-immigration policies that are overly articulated in all textual discourses guiding the practices of the EJS program in an attempt to realise the true transformative potential of RJ.
Description
Keywords
Criminology and Penology, Ethnic and Racial Studies
Citation
Bailey, M. (2016). Achieving Restorative Justice in the Extra-Judicial Sanctions Program: Working with Racialized Immigrant Youth (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24658