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Purpose:
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This program, which is under the general direction and control of the Nuxalk First Nation, is developing practical first steps to implement the Nuxalk First Nation Wellness Plan in the justice area. The Nuxalk First Nation is a community of approximately 1000 people located adjacent to Bella Coola at the end of Burke Inlet, midway between Vancouver and Prince Rupert.
The use of police and crown-based diversion/alternative measures as well as input into sentencing decisions provide the windows for the Nuxalk Nation to assume greater responsibility for administering justice to its people and developing more culturally relevant and more effective resolutions to conflict. In order to exploit these opportunities to move towards a comprehensive community justice program, the Nuxalk First Nation are developing program administrative capacity, culturally appropriate dispute resolution processes, as well as protocol arrangements with justice and services agencies.
The Nuxalk Justice Program has been identified as one of 12 communities wellness development “lines of action” in the Nuxalk Nation Community Healing and Wellness Development Plan. Each of the proposed 12 “healing” and 12 “wellness” lines of action require the development of its own implementation plan. The goal of this program planning, development and implementation exercise is to build on the present community justice service role and to develop the capacity within the Nuxault First Nation to take on a more pro-active and substantive role in administering justice to members of the community.
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