Human Trafficking in Canada

               Since the dawn of humanity, there have always been slaves. They would work for their masters against their will and were deprived of their rights and freedoms. They could be bought or sold as property – their masters decided their fates. Although slavery is officially illegal in all countries, there are still an estimated 30 million slaves worldwide. Third-world countries contribute to most of these slaves. Similar to how illegal drugs or weapons are smuggled, slaves can also be illegally transported between different cities, countries or even continents. The term, “human trafficking” is defined as the trade of humans for the purpose of slavery, sexual exploitation, or the harvesting of organs. According to non-governmental organizations, over two thousand people are trafficked into Canada and enslaved annually. Among a dozen of developed countries, Canada was ranked the worst in the enforcement against human trafficking. On June 6, 2012, the Government of Canada introduced the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. However, are the new anti-trafficking measures effective and followed? The National Action Plan proposes to effectively combat human trafficking through prevention, victim assistance, and prosecution of traffickers. The Government of Canada’s new anti-trafficking laws are making progress in abolishing human trafficking in the nation.

Human Trafficking infographic

               The Canadian government is striving towards abolishing one of the largest international crime industries. With an estimated profit of 30 billion dollars and one million victims trafficked across international borders annually, it is a serious issue concerning human rights abuses. Victims may be forced into or deceived into being smuggled across borders and authorities. Once arrived at the trafficker’s desired destination, a trafficker can strip away a victim’s rights, freedoms and dignity whilst reaping in large profits for themselves. Victims rarely sought out help because their masters often threatened their lives and families if suspected of cooperating with law enforcements. To make matters worse, trafficked victims were denied medical, psychological, counseling and legal support in Canada. Due to having no investigative protection, Canadian law officials routinely detained and extradited internationally trafficked victims for being illegal immigrants. Furthermore, offences for the trafficking of persons were very lenient and did not serve as an effective deterrent for human trafficking. Before the human trafficking amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada, the harshest sentence for human trafficking was a seven-year prison sentence.  Many non-governmental organizations criticized the Canadian government for the failed enforcement of human trafficking procedures. In 2012, the Government of Canada established the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. Since then, many amendments regarding human trafficking to the Criminal Code were made to ensure the prevention of trafficking, victim support and the just prosecution of traffickers.

               The National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking implemented prevention strategies focusing on raising awareness and promoting research activities to hinder the growth of the criminal industry. Such tactics involve the distribution of awareness materials and campaigns throughout the country. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police established an “I’m Not For Sale” campaign to provide insight on the importance of reporting suspected cases of trafficking. Victim assistance guidelines, training videos, information pamphlets and handbooks are provided to the public and potential victims of human trafficking on how to report cases of trafficking. Furthermore, the budget for child protection Programs and Community assistance services have been increased to provide training for front-line service providers. Vulnerabilities of aboriginal and immigrant women prompted the Status of Women Canada group to collaborate with the RCMP to establish anti- trafficking training programs. These programs aim at the prevention and detection of trafficking in many communities across Canada. As a result of these implementations, the number of convictions of traffickers increased from 35 convictions in 2005, to over 120 convictions in 2012. More people are becoming aware of human trafficking and speaking out. Along with many other programs directed towards raising awareness to human trafficking and slavery, the Government of Canada demonstrated effective measures to prevent human trafficking as well as great execution of their plans.  Through proper prevention, the Government of Canada is taking the right steps towards abolishing human trafficking in Canada.

              

“I’m Not For Sale” campaign poster

               Assistance and protection of trafficking victims is another top priority assignment on the government’s agenda. To ensure the safety of society, the Government of Canada aims to target the physical, psychological, and social recovery of trafficking victims. The government subsidized “Victims Fund” provides trafficked victims with basic needs, health care, financial assistance, and legal support. Internationally trafficked victims can also be issued temporary resident permits and work permits. Over 200 temporary resident permits were issued since the introduction of victim permits in 2007, with the majority being women. Trafficking victim shelters are also being established throughout all major cities of Canada. The shelters are targeted towards rehabilitation of victims so that they can integrate back into society without fear. Such shelters are currently located in Edmonton, Alberta and Toronto, Ontario. Furthermore, as part of the “Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act” created in 2012, amendments to the “Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations” will allow law enforcements to monitor employers for labour and sexual exploitation. This will result in a greater sense of security for foreign or domestic employees. With these new acts, human trafficking will be less impactful on the safety of our society.

               The Government of Canada introduced new amendments to the Criminal Code to ensure that justice is done to human traffickers. On June 29^th 2010, Bill C-268, “An Act to amend the Criminal Code” was passed to ensure a minimum sentencing of five years’ imprisonment for those charged with the trafficking of children. Section 279.011 of the Criminal Code now states,

1)   “Every person who recruits, transports, transfers, receives, holds, conceals or harbours a person under the age of eighteen years, or exercises control, direction or influence over the movements of a person under the age of eighteen years, for the purpose of exploiting them or facilitating their exploitation is guilty of an indictable offence and liable

(a) to imprisonment for life and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of six years if they kidnap, commit an aggravated assault or aggravated sexual assault against, or cause death to, the victim during the commission of the offence

or

(b) to imprisonment for a term of not more than fourteen years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of five years, in any other case.

2)      No consent to the activity that forms the subject-matter of a charge under subsection (1) is valid.”

This amendment recognizes the vulnerability of children to human trafficking. The severe punishment is now in correlation to the suffering of the victims under the age of eighteen and deters potential criminals from trafficking of children. Another important amendment was Bill C-310, “An Act to amend the Criminal Code (trafficking in persons)” passed on June 28^th, 2012. Bill C-310 enables the prosecution of Canadians under Section 279.01 of the Criminal Code while outside of Canada. Section 279.01 (Trafficking in persons) states,

1)      “Every person who recruits, transports, transfers, receives, holds, conceals or harbours a person, or exercises control, direction or influence over the movements of a person, for the purpose of exploiting them or facilitating their exploitation is guilty of an indictable offence and liable

(a) to imprisonment for life if they kidnap, commit an aggravated assault or aggravated sexual assault against, or cause death to, the victim during the commission of the offence;

Or

(b) to imprisonment for a term of not more than fourteen years in any other case.

2)      No consent to the activity that forms the subject-matter of a charge under subsection (1) is valid.”

Enabling the investigation and prosecution of Canadian traffickers outside of Canada will reduce the amount of internationally trafficked victims as well as maintaining strong international relations.  The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada Border Services Agency and Provincial police will be able to execute the enforcement of human trafficking offences under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Criminal Code. Since 2008, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Human Trafficking National Coordination Center has trained over forty thousand law enforcements, government and non-government officials on Canada’s new human trafficking acts and regulations. A recent example of the effectiveness of these implications involved a York region trafficking bust. Over 120 charges have been laid on twelve men who trafficked more than thirty women and girls as young as fourteen to work in the sex trade. Many of the girls came from different provinces and some from the United States.  Investigators suspect that there are still more victims and traffickers yet to be discovered in this case and they urged anyone with information to contact the police or crime stoppers. With the new amendments of human trafficking laws, Canadians can expect an overall decline in the number of traffickers and victims in the future.

Sources

http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/ntnl-ctn-pln-cmbt/index-eng.aspx

http://www.thefuturegroup.org/TFGhumantraffickingvictimsstudy.pdf

http://www.lfpress.com/news/canada/2012/04/03/19590556.html

http://rightsofchildren.ca/wp-content/uploads/CCRC-Response-to-List-of-Issues-on-OPSC.pdf

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/pubs/ht-tp/htta-tpem-eng.htm

http://fairwhistleblower.ca/content/human-trafficking-our-own-backyard

http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&DocId=5697415&File=4

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive//ldn/2006/mar/06030209

http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/wha/136104.htm

http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-views/news/human-trafficking-affects-foreign-workers-8937/

http://www.660news.com/2012/03/23/new-reports-aim-to-curb-human-trafficking-in-calgary/