Justice Summits

Justice Summits are held at least once a year, by invitation of the Attorney General, to encourage innovation and facilitate collaboration across the sector. 

On this page

• About the Justice Summits
• Sixteenth Justice Summit: Family and Youth Justice
• Reports of Proceedings
• Updates on Status of Recommendations

About the Justice Summits

Summits are a forum for frank discussion between justice sector leaders about how the system is performing and how it can be improved.

After each Summit, the Summit steering committee provides the Minister and judiciary with a report of proceedings, summarizing the discussions and (if applicable) recommendations made by participants.  Each report is made public upon submission to the Minister and judiciary.

A regular Justice Summit was one of the recommendations made by Geoffrey Cowper, Q.C., in his report A Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century: Final Report to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General (PDF, 3.7MB) which was delivered to government in August 2012. Government committed to this in White Paper on Justice Reform – Part 1: A Modern, Transparent Justice System (PDF, 1.5MB)  released Oct. 22, 2012, and included Justice Summits in the Justice Reform and Transparency Act (JRTA) passed in the spring 2013.

Sixteenth Justice Summit: Family and Youth Justice

The Sixteenth Justice Summit was held online on Thursday, January 15, 2026. The Summit’s theme was family and youth justice, and it discussed the interconnected legal, social, relational and financial challenges faced by families and young people navigating B.C.’s justice systems.

Please see the Sixteenth Justice Summit's website for more information. The Summit's Report of Proceedings will be posted below when it is made available.

Reports of Proceedings

Fifteenth Summit: Strengthening Partnerships for a Safer British Columbia

• Date: November 24, 2023
• Fifteenth Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 558KB)

Fourteenth Summit: Justice Sector Resilience

• Date: February 4, 2022
• Fourteenth Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 277KB)

​Thirteenth Summit: Diversion and Alternatives to Short-Term Incarceration

• Date: November 20-21, 2020
• Thirteenth Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 1.5MB)

Twelfth Summit: The Summits, Justice Reform and Assessing Progress

• Date: April 26, 2019
• Twelfth Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 558KB)

Eleventh Summit: Indigenous Justice 2

• Date: November 2-3, 2018
• Eleventh Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 908KB)

Tenth Summit: Indigenous Justice 1

• Date: May 31 to June 2, 2018
• Tenth Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 680KB)

Ninth Summit: Justice and Technology 2

• Date: November 24, 2017
• Ninth Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 973KB) 

Eighth Summit: Justice and Technology 1

• Date: June 23-24, 2017
• Eighth Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 975KB)

Seventh Summit: Justice, Mental Health and Substance Use 2

• Date: November 25, 2016
• Seventh Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 1.3MB)

Sixth Summit: Justice, Mental Health and Substance Use 1

• Date: June 10-11, 2016
• Sixth Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 837KB)

Fifth Summit: Next Steps in Sector Innovation

• Date: November 6-7, 2015
• Fifth Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 738KB)

Fourth Summit: Better Responses to Violence Against Women

• Date: November 28-29, 2014
• Fourth Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 879KB)

Third Summit: Family Justice

• Date: May 4-5, 2014
• Third Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 678KB)

Second Summit: Criminal Justice 2

• Date: November 8-9, 2013
• Second Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 1MB)

Inaugural Summit: Criminal Justice 1

• Date: March 15-16, 2013
• Inaugural Summit Report of Proceedings (PDF, 227KB)

Updates on Status of Recommendations

• Status of Prior Summit Recommendations Semi-annual Updates (PDF, 288KB) – Fall 2017