LifeRing Canada’s Leader, Michael Walsh, Speaks at IdeaWave Conference

LifeRing Canada’s Executive Director Michael Walsh was a speaker yesterday, Feb. 25, at Victoria’s innovative IdeaWave Conference, a five day gathering in which dozens of speakers give ten minute presentations on a wide variety of topics, from Mideast peace to solar power, and from “Modernizing the B.C. [British Columbia] liquor system” to Michael’s presentation on Restorative Justice and its potential for helping those in recovery. His talk, for which he teamed up with Gillian Lindquist, the Coordinator for the Victoria Restorative Justice Society, dealt with this question: “when in active addiction, a person can inflict devastating harm on their families and within their communities. When in recovery, how can the “offender” repair these harms in a meaningful way? Can Circles, a restorative process, be used for ‘making amends?'” The IdeaWave conference is modeled after the TED conferences which are held throughout the world.