Friday’s conference, Apology and Forgiveness: Moving Forward on a Path of Healing, was diverse in topics and attendance, according to co-ordinator Bruce Curtis.”It was incredibly well-received,” said Curtis. “It drew a very diverse crowd of people who shared that common interest in apology, forgiveness and reconciliation from a variety of perspectives.”After a speech from well-known author and physician Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish on Thursday evening at Mark Isfeld Secondary School, the conference continued for much of the day Friday in the Stan Hagen Theatre at North Island College.According to Curtis, about 85 people attended throughout the day. A wide variety of people showed up, including corrections officers, hospice staff, teachers, First Nations, and members of the general public, with some from as far away as Sooke, Port Hardy and the mainland.Curtis, who is the chief administrator of the Comox Valley Community Justice Centre, started the day with a talk called Roots of Healing and Routes to Healing. This presentation was about apology, forgiveness and reconciliation on interpersonal, organizational and international levels.A three-person panel with members of local community-based and RCMP-based victims services followed him. They talked about their rising caseloads for family-based domestic violence and sexual assault in the Comox Valley and what sorts of services they provide.Director, producer and film-maker Hilary Pryor’s documentary To forgive…Divine was shown, which discussed Christian, Buddhist, Islamic and Jewish approaches to forgiveness.Village of Cumberland councillor Connor Copeman spoke about when he was assaulted in Saskatchewan in 2007. He said the assault, which left him in a wheelchair, happened because he is gay. Copeman talked about his decision to become more involved in the community, and how that community involvement helped him heal.”It was a very interesting positive sort of spin about personal choice to overcome a very, very difficult time and moving forward through basically personal will,” said Curtis.Pearl Hunt, Whe-la-la-U Area council administrator from Alert Bay, spoke about treating the aggressor and victim together in domestic violence incidents. Curtis explained that because the area is so small it’s hard to separate victims and aggressors, and noted that this idea is quite different from the norm.It was “very paradigm-changing, because the usual response to domestic violence is to separate and treat the offender and support the victim, but because this is a small community their response is quite different and has had incredibly positive results as well,” explained Curtis.Finally, senior trainer for Community Justice Initiatives Aaron Lyons spoke about victim offender mediation.The event was funded by the Department of Justice Canada and National Victims of Crime Awareness Week. Although it was hosted by the Community Justice Centre and the Comox Valley Multicultural and Immigrant Services Society, Curtis noted many other organizations and agencies were involved, allowing for stronger connections between the different local groups.”There were lots of important connections made for ongoing work in the area,” said Curtis. “Connections and ideas and thought that will enhance the kind of collaboration that the justice centre has been doing across the Island and on the Sunshine Coast… addressing a variety of situations that result in victims.”writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com

Comox Valley Record