History of the Youth Justice Committee   In preparation for the new Youth Criminal Justice Act  (YCJA), the Ministry of the Attorney General announced four sites in Northwestern Ontario to act as pilot projects for restorative justice programs called Youth Justice Committees.  Nipigon was fortunate to be chosen as one of these pilot sites.  Sgt. Krista Miller, who was trained in restorative justice practices through the RCMP, took the initiative to culitvate the program.  In August of 2002, Sgt. Krista Miller approached The Land of the Nipigon Chamber of Commerce to act as a supporting agency for the Youth Justice Committee.  The Chamber of Commerce agreed and was successful in acquiring funding from the Ministry of the Attorney General to start up and operate the program.  Meetings at this time were held at the OPP Detachment in Nipigon.  The first volunteer facilitators were trained in November of 2002. The Youth Justice Committee worked initially out of the Tourism building in Nipigon in February 2003.  The Youth Justice Committee and the Chamber of Commerce decided to share an Administrative Assistant to maximize value for both organizations and continue to do so at this time. A Coordinator was hired in April 2003, to get the program running efficiently, educate the public regarding restorative justice practices and to develop relationships with community service organzations and law enforcement professionals.  The Youth Justice Committee moved temporarily to the Nipigon Elk's Hall at this time before finding it's present home at 22 Third Street, Nipigon in July of 2003. Since it's beginning, the Youth Justice Committee has created many partnerships between local, provincial, federal and First Nations agencies.  Referral protocol was signed between the OPP and the Youth Justice Committee in March 2004 and was followed shortly by protocol between the MNR and the Youth Justice Committee. A grant was received from the Department of Justice in June 2004 to provide enhanced programming to youth in conflict including anger management and drug education.  Kairos Community Resource Centre travelled to Nipigon to provide programming for this initiative. At the Annual General Meeting in February 2005, the group agreed unanimously to change the committee name to the 12+ Youth Justice Committee in order to reflect the number of communities the committee serves and also the age of youth eligible for the program.  The 12+ Youth Justice Committee volunteers and staff continue to forge ahead to help the communities it serves in delivering restorative justice for victims of youth crime and youth in conflict with the law.