Sunday, April 19, 2009

Join us in Winnipeg on May 28th!





Panel Discussion on Criminal Justice Issues

Are you interested in justice, injustice, and crime? What role should the community play in restoration and healing? Get involved!

WHEN –7 p.m. on Thursday, May 28th, 2009
WHERE – Portage Avenue Church, 1420 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba

WHY-- The Manitoba Interfaith Council will host a public panel to discuss issues related to our criminal justice system. The council is hoping to create dialogue, raise awareness, and encourage members of the community to become involved in organizations that help prisoners while they’re incarcerated and when they’re released.

WHO -- Panel members include David Asper, Joyce Milgaard, and Dr. Stanley Yaren. Local CBC radio personality Terry Macleod, host of Radio One 990's morning show, will moderate the event.

David Asper is Executive Vice President of Canwest Global Communications and Chairman of the National Post. He is also a criminal lawyer, well renowned for his activism on behalf of the wrongly convicted, and a member of the bar in Manitoba and Ontario.

Joyce Milgaard rose to national prominence as the indefatigable mom in her 23-year battle, which she took right up to the Supreme Court of Canada, to free and exonerate her wrongly-convicted son David. She has an honourary law degree from the University of Manitoba, is on the board of directors of The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC), and is a Christian Science practitioner.

Dr. Stanley Yaren, MD, FRCPC is a Forensic Psychiatrist and head of the Adult Forensic Psychiatry Program for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. Dr. Yaren is a psychiatric consultant to The Correctional Services of Canada. He is also President Elect of the Canadian Psychiatric Association and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba.
Rev. Hank Dixon has been the Protestant Chaplain at Stony Mountain Institution for the last 6 years. He has a B.A. from Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax, an M. Div. from Providence Theological Seminary and is presently working on a D. Min. degree from Providence. Hank brings a somewhat unique perspective to the area of corrections having spent 9 years in prison for murder from 1976 to 1985. He was ordained in 1995 and is credentialed with the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada.

The Manitoba Interfaith Council represents the interests of the faith community to the Government of Manitoba on issues related to health care and corrections. The council is an advocate for restorative justice.
Everyone is welcome to attend and admission is free. The focus of the event will be to encourage community participation, build allies, and foster greater understanding of the penal system. It will also suggest different ways of looking at crime: instead of asking, “What crime was committed and how can that person be punished?”, the panel will take a more humane approach by asking, “What happened, who was harmed, and how can we help?”

Various social agencies and organizations such as Elizabeth Fry, the John Howard Society, and the Salvation Army will have displays at the church. Attendees can talk to these groups and perhaps volunteer some of their free time to work with them.

For further information, please click on the CONTACT ME button to the right. Or write directly to Don Collins, Open Circle Prison Visitation Coordinator, Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba, doncollins@mennonitecc.ca (cell phone: (204) 294-9599).

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