MANITOBA CRIMINAL JUSTICE ASSOCIATION (MCJA)
ANNUAL CRIME PREVENTION BREAKFAST
November is Crime Prevention month in Manitoba. The MCJA recognizes this Provincial Proclamation each year by hosting our Annual Crime Prevention Breakfast (CPB) in early November. This year we, once again, congregated at the beautiful Fort Garry Hotel in downtown Winnipeg for the event. The hotel is on Treaty One Territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree and Dakota peoples and homeland of the Metis nation.
The MCJA Board sponsors this yearly event in order to present issues of significant importance to the people of Manitoba. The topic often carries greater national or international implications. The most recent topics have included Addictions and the Fentanyl Crisis, Countering Violent Extremism, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and Mental Health Court. The event attracts Judges from all three levels of our courts, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, the Provincial Crowns office, RCMP, Winnipeg Police Service, Canadian Border Services, Correction Services of Canada, Provincial Corrections, parole officers, probation officers, defence counsel, residential treatment service providers, social workers, medical doctors, psychologists, concerned citizens and numerous other agencies and individuals.
The day is comprised of a morning session with breakfast and the Keynote speaker address followed by an all-day workshop during which we aheard again from our Keynote speaker and well as esteemed panelists and speakers from across the country and Manitoba, to address the theme topic. Our programs are very well received and attended and our CPB traditionally seats about 300 people.
This year’s topic was very timely and relevant for all Canadian citizens, Refugees and Immigrants.
Emerson, Manitoba is a beautiful little town along the United States/Canada border. It is the gateway for citizens and vacationers traveling in and out of our province. In the last year, Emerson has emerged as one of the busiest points along the international border for refugees from around the globe seeking asylum. Some refugees pass through the controlled border station while others cross over the international boundary through open fields and on railroad tracks.
The resources at Canada Border Services have been overwhelmed, as too has provincial RCMP. The Manitoba government has set up processing stations to try to help each individual as they enter our country. The challenges are immense. We deal with language issues, foreign travel documentation, lack of travel papers, emotional concerns, hunger, dehydration, and— severe hypothermia and frost bite. Everyone is welcomed by our Federal and Provincial government representatives and processed as quickly as is possible.
Manitobans are confronted daily with information about the plight of refugees in our province; it’s in our newspapers and on our news stations. The flow of those seeking asylum and settlement in Manitoba is unprecedented. This became was thus a natural choice for this year’s CPB. We wanted we learn and teach all attendees more about this phenomenon.
The plethora of presenters allowed us to approach this topic from many vantage points and to learn about the process from the trained personnel who assist people immigrating to Canada at every step of their journey. The breadth of our workshop went from why one seeks asylum and how one travels here and gets admitted to what are the risks in coming to a new land, what support is needed and what we as Canadians can do to help in this process.
The RCMP and CBS told us about the initial hands-on interaction with the newcomers, how and where they arrive in the country and the way some circumvent regular processing at the border. Once these newcomers are safely in our care, background checks must be done, medical staff must attend to their personal needs, and Immigration personnel must process each application with the aid of translators. Once the formal part of the transition has been done, social service departments must arrange accommodation for hundreds of refugees.
They need good food and appropriate new clothing before being conveyed to larger centers like Winnipeg. Once in their new town or city, financial matters have to be addressed, jobs found and proper housing secured. Many will require meetings with counsellors and health professionals to address their physical and emotional needs. Schooling must be arranged for the children and language classes for adults in many cases. Much work remains. The CPB succeeded in planning a plenary schedule of presenters to address every facet of the process.
The itinerary for the day was busy and detailed. We hope to create a complete annotated timeline on how to help refugees arriving in our country start a new life, one that is founded on good advice and a commitment for everyone to succeed and become an important contributing member.
The people who help the refugees are saving lives. With this year’s Crime Prevention breakfast, the MCJA aimed to teach every attendee how this is done. We urge you to contact the MCJA with any questions about the MCJA Annual Crime Prevention Breakfast in 2017 held November 9 at Manitoba’s Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg.
Thank you.
Mike Cook, BA, LLB
President of the MCJA
ANNUAL CRIME PREVENTION BREAKFAST
November is Crime Prevention month in Manitoba. The MCJA recognizes this Provincial Proclamation each year by hosting our Annual Crime Prevention Breakfast (CPB) in early November. This year we, once again, congregated at the beautiful Fort Garry Hotel in downtown Winnipeg for the event. The hotel is on Treaty One Territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree and Dakota peoples and homeland of the Metis nation.
The MCJA Board sponsors this yearly event in order to present issues of significant importance to the people of Manitoba. The topic often carries greater national or international implications. The most recent topics have included Addictions and the Fentanyl Crisis, Countering Violent Extremism, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and Mental Health Court. The event attracts Judges from all three levels of our courts, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, the Provincial Crowns office, RCMP, Winnipeg Police Service, Canadian Border Services, Correction Services of Canada, Provincial Corrections, parole officers, probation officers, defence counsel, residential treatment service providers, social workers, medical doctors, psychologists, concerned citizens and numerous other agencies and individuals.
The day is comprised of a morning session with breakfast and the Keynote speaker address followed by an all-day workshop during which we aheard again from our Keynote speaker and well as esteemed panelists and speakers from across the country and Manitoba, to address the theme topic. Our programs are very well received and attended and our CPB traditionally seats about 300 people.
This year’s topic was very timely and relevant for all Canadian citizens, Refugees and Immigrants.
Emerson, Manitoba is a beautiful little town along the United States/Canada border. It is the gateway for citizens and vacationers traveling in and out of our province. In the last year, Emerson has emerged as one of the busiest points along the international border for refugees from around the globe seeking asylum. Some refugees pass through the controlled border station while others cross over the international boundary through open fields and on railroad tracks.
The resources at Canada Border Services have been overwhelmed, as too has provincial RCMP. The Manitoba government has set up processing stations to try to help each individual as they enter our country. The challenges are immense. We deal with language issues, foreign travel documentation, lack of travel papers, emotional concerns, hunger, dehydration, and— severe hypothermia and frost bite. Everyone is welcomed by our Federal and Provincial government representatives and processed as quickly as is possible.
Manitobans are confronted daily with information about the plight of refugees in our province; it’s in our newspapers and on our news stations. The flow of those seeking asylum and settlement in Manitoba is unprecedented. This became was thus a natural choice for this year’s CPB. We wanted we learn and teach all attendees more about this phenomenon.
The plethora of presenters allowed us to approach this topic from many vantage points and to learn about the process from the trained personnel who assist people immigrating to Canada at every step of their journey. The breadth of our workshop went from why one seeks asylum and how one travels here and gets admitted to what are the risks in coming to a new land, what support is needed and what we as Canadians can do to help in this process.
The RCMP and CBS told us about the initial hands-on interaction with the newcomers, how and where they arrive in the country and the way some circumvent regular processing at the border. Once these newcomers are safely in our care, background checks must be done, medical staff must attend to their personal needs, and Immigration personnel must process each application with the aid of translators. Once the formal part of the transition has been done, social service departments must arrange accommodation for hundreds of refugees.
They need good food and appropriate new clothing before being conveyed to larger centers like Winnipeg. Once in their new town or city, financial matters have to be addressed, jobs found and proper housing secured. Many will require meetings with counsellors and health professionals to address their physical and emotional needs. Schooling must be arranged for the children and language classes for adults in many cases. Much work remains. The CPB succeeded in planning a plenary schedule of presenters to address every facet of the process.
The itinerary for the day was busy and detailed. We hope to create a complete annotated timeline on how to help refugees arriving in our country start a new life, one that is founded on good advice and a commitment for everyone to succeed and become an important contributing member.
The people who help the refugees are saving lives. With this year’s Crime Prevention breakfast, the MCJA aimed to teach every attendee how this is done. We urge you to contact the MCJA with any questions about the MCJA Annual Crime Prevention Breakfast in 2017 held November 9 at Manitoba’s Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg.
Thank you.
Mike Cook, BA, LLB
President of the MCJA
