Joel Skapiner, Nicole Stewart-Kamanga, Regina Thompson and Elizabeth spent a week in Guyana conducting another session of ADR training in collaboration with IMPACT Justice project. Read Joel’s account of their time in Georgetown!
Four mediate393 roster mediators are spending a week in Guyana training social workers to upgrade their mediation skills through a program called IMPACT Justice project funded by the Government of Canada and run through Riverdale Mediation in Toronto. There are about 25 participants who are almost equally divided between child protection workers and “probation officers”. I have the latter in quotes because their roles are different from what they would be in Canada. Their roles include conducting pre-trial investigations and reporting their findings to the court. The child protection workers, unlike in Ontario, conduct pre-apprehension mediations with the aim of reducing the number of apprehensions. Mediation plays a large role for both jobs and the participants in the program are keen to absorb as many skills as we can impart.
I was taken on a tour of the Georgetown Magistrates Court to see how that court processes its cases. In Guyana, the Magistrates are a combination of what in Ontario would be Provincial Court judges and Justices of the Peace. I sat through two spousal interim restraining order applications & closing submissions in two drug trials. The first thing that struck me was how difficult it was to hear all the parties. The courthouse is on the main street and with single pane windows, every truck’s engine & constant car horns reverberated through the courtroom. In addition to that, two air conditioning units (it was 32 degrees Celsius with very high humidity outside) rumbled so loud that any voices not drowned out by the outside noise were taken care of by the AC units. Counsel, witnesses, and the magistrate were constantly asking one another to repeat themselves. I noticed there were no court reporters in any of the courts.
When I was introduced to a magistrate in chambers during a break in the proceedings I was told by her (most of the magistrates were women) in answer to my question about a record of proceedings, that their only record consisted of her notes which would be typed if a matter went on appeal. Overall, the courts seemed to be very efficient and there is an emphasis on process. The only real surprise I had was when counsel for one of the drug case’s accused referred to the prosecutor as being his learned friend and “a very nice young girl”. No one at the court except for me seemed to react to this.
Very few people can afford the courts in Guyana and so our training should go far to help resolve disputes in a quick and affordable way.
Our Team in Guyana!
Joel has many years of experience practicing family law, currently with Skapinker & Shapiro.
Nicole is an Accredited Family Mediator and Family Lawyer with a negotiation/mediation-based private practice. She holds an LL.M. in ADR. Nicole is a panel lawyer with the Office of the Children’s Lawyer and sits on the Board of the Ontario Bar Association’s ADR Section.
Elizabeth is an arbitrator, mediator and parenting coordinator with Riverdale Mediation Ltd.
Regina is a parenting mediator, a family/child protection mediator and a Certified Adjudicator. Regina is founder and principal of Strategic Intervention Services Associates; a full-service culturally contextualized ADR consultancy.
