 The Schulich School of Law in Dalhousie University are proud to be launching the Restorative Lab, the first ever international lab focused on a restorative approach. Restorative Justice is really an approach to justice that centers relationships. It looks at justice as the work of creating just relationships. And that's the kind of work that we're doing here. A restorative approach really takes seriously the importance of connection not only between people but also between systems and between communities and groups. And it takes seriously the need to bring people together to be able to work for change together. Sometimes people think fairly narrowly about restorative justice and they think that it's concerned only with our current justice system and with looking for different processes and practices within the justice system. But really restorative justice is concerned with just relations and taking a restorative approach focuses on those relationships. And then we can think about the real significance of a restorative approach for a whole range of systems and services in community, in groups, in our schools, in our workplaces. For far too long for centuries too many people have felt on the outside of the system. And we've all acknowledged the system is broken and the human-centered approach allows us to look at this problem or look at the situation differently. We look at it directly at the center of the person and we understand the cultural issues that have been overlooked. We understand the systemic issues within our system focused based on the points of view from the individual's most impacted. We want long-lasting healing and quite frankly long-lasting solutions. It has to be from human-centered, not system-centered. And that's why I believe this is so critical and why the work that's been happening with Jennifer and her team at Dalhousie and the work that we've been able to do within our community using this approach has been long-lasting and powerful. As the Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Nova Scotia one of the successes I am most proud of is our province's international standing as a leader in restorative justice. This success is partly the result of strong partnerships between government, community and Dalhousie University. This restorative lab will help us further advance restorative approaches in Nova Scotia. The lab will also better connect us nationally and internationally with others who are also working to reimagine justice systems that involve community and government working together with a common vision. There is no doubt that our current justice system has complex systemic issues that must be addressed if we are to achieve our vision to improve access to justice especially for those who struggle the most. As we work to transform Nova Scotia's justice system this lab will play a key role in helping us build stronger, more inclusive and just communities where all Nova Scotians can prosper and enjoy a high quality of life. The restorative lab is a significant opportunity for the university to do one of the things universities do best which is bring people together to learn together and to mobilize knowledge for action and change. It's important that the lab be a space and a place for people to be able to come together and learn together. The opening of restorative lab comes at a critical time. The effects of COVID-19 have brought racial, gender-based and socio-economic disparities into sharp focus. We know that we must do more to respond to these inequities. As an institution of higher learning we at Dalhousie are committed to partnering in this work. We are proud to be home to the restorative lab. Restorative justice allows us to reimagine systems and communities in a way that centers inclusion and participation. This act of centring people and human relationships is also at the heart of the work we do at Dalhousie. The mission of the law school has been to promote the public interest in the practice of law. We're devoted in our teaching and our research to social transformation. We're not just interested in the rules of law, we're interested in the law as a social project. And so what restorative justice brings is another tool to the process of identifying and to responding to steep and systemic injustice in society. Universities have an incredible opportunity to be building relationships across silos and to be part of social innovation, part of supporting the kind of change that we need in our society. On behalf of Dalhousie, thank you to our community and private partners and to the government of Nova Scotia. Together at the restorative lab, we're ready to build the knowledge and connections needed for just and sustainable communities here in Nova Scotia and around the world.