In response to the Congress, the University of Ottawa's Department of Criminology convened a roundtable in 1991 to examine the relevance of the UN to crime policy in Canada. The roundtable's aim was to review resolutions from the Congress, identify implications for Canada, and suggest ways Canada could benefit from or contribute to the development and implementation of UN norms and standards. Over 100 persons attending the roundtable included leaders in the fields of crime prevention, victim assistance, policing, women's groups, and aboriginal peoples. Invited speakers addressed the general role of the UN in crime policy and focused on sentencing and alternative measures, crime prevention, and emerging issues related to women and natives. They debated how the UN Congress benefits Canadian criminal and foreign policies. Speakers noted the contribution of Canada to UN work in criminal justice, the UN's commitment to crime prevention, the rapid growth in Canadian municipality interest in urban safety and crime prevention, violence against women, alternatives to institutionalization, and the role of UN standards in modernizing Canadian policies and programs.