Pointe Claire mediation program expands territory

BY IAN HOWARTH

When the Pointe Claire Volunteer Mediation project opened for business last fall, they could not have anticipated the number of calls they would get from outside their target area.

Originally intended as a service to mediate neighbourhood disputes in Pointe Claire, the YMCA-sponsored project has opened up its territory to include all West Island communities.

“We were getting calls from all over the Montreal area,” said volunteer mediator Jennifer Crane, one of eight Pointe Claire residents who have been with the program since the beginning.

As a result of increased demand, the project has trained more volunteers .

“We’ve seen from the calls we’ve received for this service that there’s definitely a need for this type of intervention on the West Island,” Crane added.

They say that good fences make good neighbours, but sometimes those fences makes for good arguments, too. Melanie Safi, who heads up the Alternative Justice Program for young offenders, has added the mediation program to her portfolio.

“Conflict does not necessarily have boundaries,” she said, though hastening to add that boundaries can be the foundation for neighbour disputes. “It was the logical thing to do to begin in Pointe Claire where the Y is located,” she explained. “Pointe Claire has the same kinds of problems as many other communities.”

The basic premise of mediation is that both parties want it. Both sides have to agree to meet to begin the mediation process, said Safi. The YMCA has set up a special number and recently unveiled their new bilingual website. Volunteers have received 30 to 35 hours of training from Safi and other experts in the field. With recent reasonable accommodation incidents in Montreal making news, volunteers are also trained to deal with inter-cultural conflicts.

“We haven’t had any specific calls yet that deal with neighbours who are in conflict because of cultural differences, but we’re prepared if that situation arises,” Safi said.

The program is designed to have mediators work in pairs, They assess the situation based on the original complainant’s phone call, then determine if the other party is willing to participate. Conflicts are often the result of long-standing neighbour conflicts that have stagnated and irritated over time.

Ernest Tannis, a lawyer and founder of the Ottawa-based Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre, has given one-day sessions to the volunteers and he confirms this premise.

“Mediation is much like a form of diplomacy,” he explained. “It’s the same thing in principle as nations in a world dispute. Two-thirds of disputes never get to resolution, which can cause long-standing resentments.”

Pointe Claire resident Charlie MacTaggart endured his neighbour’s neglected landscape for years, but the problem was only solved when the elderly owner put his house up for sale. He bought the man’s house, renovated and re-landscaped the backyard.

“I now get four more hours of sunlight,” he said. “I never really complained, but now at least I’m investing in my future comfort as well as my new neighbours.”

But MacTaggart was patient and the situation resolved itself. Often, with neighbourhood disputes, that is not the case.

Pointe Claire mediation volunteer Karen Kingsbury has learned at least that much since she began her training and put it to work.

“I think the problems that develop between neighbours wouldn’t happen if we knew how to speak to each other. It’s the small things that can become bigger, the barking dog or the unmowed lawn, for example. If we wait until the tension escalates, then we are more likely to speak in anger and exacerbate the situation,” she said. “The mediators job is to remain non-judgmental and help the parties arrive at a collective solution. The outcome should be a win-win situation.”

For more information on the Pointe Claire Volunteer Mediation, call 514-630-9864 ext. 323 or check pointeclairemediation.com.