Background

In 2022, the Dalhousie Restorative Lab organized a National Restorative Collaborative Learning Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, funded by Justice Canada, which included provincial, territorial and federal delegationsFootnote 1. One of the main objectives of this conference was to discuss what would be needed to transform the approach to justice in Canada through an increased use of restorative justice. Throughout the conference there was recognition that increasing knowledge and awareness of restorative justice is crucial if there is to be an increase in its use, for which knowledge dissemination, research and data play a key role. At the end of the three-day conference, there was a commitment to collaboratively develop a national research and knowledge network.