Abstract
RCMP executives and the Canadian government promoted community justice forums (family group conferences) in the late 1990s. They did so because CJFs offered a process consistent with the national community-policing strategy. When this strategy changed, executives cut their support for the program. This paper argues that this “rise” and “fall” was a function of the program's theoretical and procedural alignment with shifting strategies of national governance. This raises a question about the role of restorative forums in Canadian governance. If such programs remain desirable, multi-agency forums (police, public schools, child welfare, immigration) may well align with the nascent governmental framework of public safety interoperability. The paper also considers another possibility: non-state local peacemaking forums. The conclusion discusses potential benefits and limits of these possibilities. It also offers general theoretical observations on the role of alignment in governmental programming.
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