Claire de Mézerville López is joined by co-host, Executive Director of IIRP Canada, Pat Lewis, for a special IIRP Canada series, highlighting the use of restorative practices and restorative justice across Canada. In this episode, they welcome seasoned youth care specialist Joe Blake to the Restorative Works! Podcast.

Joe joins us to discuss the representation of Indigenous youth in Canada's justice system and the cultural disconnect they often experience. He explains how restorative practices align closely with Indigenous ways of resolving conflict—centered on healing, empathy, and community. Through stories from his own practice, including a powerful anecdote involving two youth in a group home, Joe illustrates how even informal restorative conversations can defuse tension, foster understanding, and build authentic relationships.

Joe is a restorative practices instructor with IIRP Canada. He runs restorative justice training workshops and has been working in the field of Child and Youth Care for more than fifteen years. Joe has a Master of Arts in Child and Youth Care. The research focus for his Master of Arts thesis is on restorative practices with Indigenous youth within the youth criminal justice system. Joe’s key areas of interest in the field particularly lie in the youth criminal justice system, youth rights, restorative practices, social justice, Indigenous practices, and youth advocacy. He teaches these topics at several Toronto-based colleges, including Toronto Metropolitan University, Sheridan College, and Durham College. Joe serves in a variety of family counselling and court-ordered supervised access program positions. Joe identifies as Ojibwe, First Nations and is especially aware of the challenges that Indigenous and other marginalized youth face.

Tune in to learn more about how restorative justice offers a meaningful alternative to punitive systems by promoting accountability without shame, and how youth themselves begin to use these tools in their homes and schools.

Claire de Mézerville López is joined by co-host, Executive Director of IIRP Canada, Pat Lewis, for a special IIRP Canada series, highlighting the use of restorative practices and restorative justice across Canada. In this episode, they welcome dedicated community leader, Nicole Chouinard, to the Restorative Works! Podcast.

Nicole joins us to share how she and her team collaborate with schools across seven communities and over 30 schools to embed restorative practices early on—training teachers, engaging parents, and creating safe, supportive spaces for students. In a region deeply shaped by transient workforces and past emergencies, these efforts are helping young people build lasting relationships, cultural pride, and emotional safety.

Sharing her journey into restorative justice and the stories of youth who were positively affected by their involvement in restorative justice processes, she highlights the emotional depth of her work—navigating the unpredictability of human experience while advocating for victims’ voices and supporting accused youth on their healing journeys.

Nicole and her husband have called the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) home since 2009, where they live, work, and play. In 2012, Nicole transitioned into her role as a leader within the RCMP Support Services Branch, where she became involved with Victim Services and Restorative Justice. The exposure to these programs opened a passion to advocate for change in how justice is viewed, amplification of victims’ voices, better understanding of why a client causes harm, and improvement of community connections and supports. In 2020, Nicole started the process to grow Restorative Justice within the RMWB and has been instrumental in its success, including continued collaboration with stakeholders and the community. Since completing her Legal Assistant Diploma through SAIT in 2007, Nicole has been embedded in careers with legal backgrounds through work with quasi-judicial boards including the National Energy Board, Alberta Energy Regulator, Assessment Review Board, and the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board.

Tune in to understand how restorative practices can prevent violence, promote healing, and empower youth.

Claire de Mézerville López is joined by co-host, Executive Director of IIRP Canada Pat Lewis, for a special series with IIRP Canada highlighting the use of restorative practices and restorative justice across Canada. In this episode they welcome seasoned educator, consultant, and curriculum specialist, Angela Green, to the Restorative Works! Podcast.

Join us as Angela helps us explore the intersection of restorative practices and education in the Canadian context. Sharing how she integrates restorative practices into literacy, numeracy, and school improvement initiatives, Angela discusses the power of relationships in the classroom, the importance of psychological safety for learning, and how formative assessment fosters student engagement.

Through personal stories and practical insights, Angela challenges the misconception that relationship-building and curriculum development exist in opposition. She highlights how restorative practices enhance student voice, support universal design for learning, and create environments where both teachers and students feel empowered to take academic risks.

Angela Green is a former elementary educator and consultant who is passionate about the power of relationships and thrives on fostering positive learning communities for adults and young people. As a curriculum specialist in literacy and numeracy, Angela has engaged in instructional design, school improvement planning, and consulting using a restorative practices approach for over 30 years. She is currently an instructor for IIRP Canada and an adjunct mathematics education instructor at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

Tune in to learn more about how Canadian educators are using restorative practices to integrate student voice, emotional safety, and academic rigor into their classroom environments.