Our work seeks to prevent, repair, and move beyond harm for all those impacted by crime. Our newsletter Quaker Concern comes out three times a year sharing stories from our transformative justice work and how we’re making a difference.
Canadian Quakers believe that justice must be compassionate and focus on how to heal rather than how to punish. This is what’s called “penal abolition”—working to put an end to punishment and harm throughout the justice system. This is the ground from which our methods, processes, and partnerships emerge.
A particular focus for our transformative justice work is on children and youth. Policing and imprisonment regularly harm children and youth directly or indirectly. They’re particularly vulnerable when they enter the justice system, but are also collateral victims when their parents are arrested or imprisoned.
Children are often ignored in the process of a parent’s arrest, remand, sentencing, and imprisonment, yet they experience a range of psychological, social, and economic hardships. Many challenges are faced by children who are born into or living in prison with a parent, as well as children who are left on the outside.
Poverty is increasing in Canada, and income inequality has reached the highest levels in recorded history. These problems are having a major collective impact and as such, require a collective solution. This is an issue that intersects across all areas of Canadian Friends Service Committee’s work, leading us to speak out—in solidarity with many networks,…
Darla” is currently incarcerated in a federal institution in Canada. She deeply loves her three children. She also struggles with mental health issues. She’s concerned about her upcoming release from incarceration. She’s not sure how she’ll pay for food and shelter for her family, and is afraid that she won’t be able to access the…
As a small child I had night terrors. One recurring fear was about prison: I was petrified that I might accidentally commit some harm and be put behind bars. Reflecting on my childhood anxiety, I notice that, while I might have had a shaky grasp on Canada’s legal system, I absolutely grasped the heart of…
Matt: Welcome to CFSC, Karen! What’s surprised you about your work here so far? Karen: Thanks! I’m delighted to have joined CFSC! One great surprise actually happened during my interview for this position. I’d come prepared to suggest a name change away from talking about “criminal justice” work towards something that doesn’t stigmatize people who…
You probably believe in a Guaranteed Basic Income, too!” the voice on the other end of the phone said mockingly. Guaranteed Basic Income? Actually, I’d never heard of that before—but it immediately struck me as a good idea. I was a new mother at the time, calling my provincial Premier to raise concerns about the…
As a practicum student, I was nervous about stepping into the work of Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC). I was afraid I wouldn’t fit in and unsure if my values would truly align with CFSC’s, since I’m not a Quaker. When I reviewed the testimonies and Canadian Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends’…
Have you ever had a pen pal? Was it a good experience? Did you learn about where they lived, their customs and culture, or perhaps their life circumstances, including the joys and the sorrows? When I was in grade 7, our teacher decided that assigning pen pals to the class would be a great learning…
When I close my eyes and think about lived experience, I can still hear the words of children and youth I’ve met over the years: “They asked me questions in front of my parents. I couldn’t say anything with them in the room.” “It took me a year to say something to the teacher. I…
A major concern of CFSC’s in recent years has been the plight of children when their parents or caregivers are incarcerated. One way CFSC seeks to move this work forward is by using the United Nations as an avenue for advocacy and awareness-raising. Canada is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights…
In our criminal justice work, CFSC seeks to elevate the voices of those with lived experience. We believe that listening to these voices is essential for genuine and meaningful system change. For obvious reasons, direct access to the voices of people currently or formerly incarcerated can be hard to find. Intriguingly, the development of podcasting…
Scroll down for a list of all articles about Canadian Friends Service Committee’s transformative justice work.