Question Period Note: Human Trafficking

• Human trafficking is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable and the Government takes this very seriously.

• In September 2019, the Government of Canada launched a new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking that brings together federal efforts under one strategic framework, and is supported by an investment of $57.22 million over five years and $10.28 million ongoing.

• The National Strategy builds on a previous investment of $14.5 million over five years and $2.89 million ongoing to put in place the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline.

• The Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline can serve as a lifeline for victims of this horrendous crime, who may be particularly vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline is a multi-lingual, toll-free referral service and resource that receives calls, emails and texts about potential human trafficking in Canada and refers victims to local law enforcement, shelters and a range of other trauma-informed supports and services.

• New investments in the National Strategy will support a national public awareness campaign, enhance support services for victims and at-risk populations, develop training tools to help key sectors in the identification of victims, and increase capacity to detect and respond to suspected cases.

Human trafficking, also referred to as trafficking in persons, involves the recruitment, transportation or harbouring of persons for the purpose of exploitation, typically sexual exploitation or forced labour. The primary international instrument to combat trafficking in persons is the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC; also known as the Palermo Convention) and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Trafficking in Persons Protocol).

The Trafficking in Persons Protocol is one of three protocols under the UNTOC. These three Protocols are often referred to as the Palermo Protocols. Canada has ratified two of three of the Protocols: the Trafficking in Persons Protocol and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. Canada has not ratified the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition. Canada ratified the Trafficking in Persons Protocol and its parent convention, the UNTOC, on May 13, 2002, to prevent trafficking, protect its victims and prosecute the offenders.

Canada’s criminal laws prohibit trafficking in persons for any exploitative purpose, regardless of whether it occurs within Canada or involves bringing persons into Canada. The Criminal Code of Canada contains specific human trafficking offences that are punishable by maximum penalties of high as life imprisonment, with mandatory minimum penalties ranging from one to six years.

Canada has been identified as a source, destination and transit country for victims of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and forced labour. According to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, police-reported incidents on human trafficking in Canada have steadily increased since 2010. The latest Juristat on Trafficking in Persons in Canada indicates that between 2009 and 2016, 95% of human trafficking victims in Canada were female, 72% were women under the age of 25, and 25% were under 18. Individuals at risk of victimization include persons who are socially or economically disadvantaged, such as Indigenous women, LGBTQ2 persons, youth, migrants, new immigrants, teenage runaways and children who are in protection.

Since the expiry of the 2012-2016 National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, the Government of Canada has continued to address this crime, including through enhanced funding for Justice Canada’s Victims Fund, increased protections for temporary foreign workers, capacity-building efforts, funding for survivor-housing response models, training for law enforcement and government officials, and extensive stakeholder engagement.

Most notably, Budget 2018 announced $14.51 million over five years and $2.89 million ongoing to establish a national human trafficking hotline. Operated by the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking, the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline was launched on May 29, 2019. It is a multilingual, 24/7, toll-free line, referral service and resource Centre that receives calls, emails and texts about potential human trafficking in Canada and refers victims to local law enforcement, shelters and a range of other trauma-informed supports and services.

In September 2019, the Government launched the new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking that is supported by an investment of $57.22 million over five years and $10.28 million ongoing. The National Strategy builds on the internationally recognized pillars of prevention, protection, prosecution and partnerships, and incorporates a new pillar of “empowerment” to ensure considerable focus is put towards enhancing supports and services to victims affected by this crime. Key Public Safety activities under the Strategy include the development of a national case management standard, public awareness activities, training tools for sectors to identify victims, new contribution funding for support services and initiatives for at-risk populations, and the establishment of an Advisory Committee made up of victims/survivors of human trafficking.

In September 2019, Ms. Shirley Cuillierrier was appointed as the Interim Special Advisor to Combat Human Trafficking. Ms. Cuillierrier is a retired RCMP Assistant Commissioner and member of the Mohawk First Nation from Kanesatake, Quebec. She has significant experience in operational policing and has led the RCMP’s National Human Trafficking Coordination Centre. Ms. Cuillierrier has dedicated much of her professional and personal time to educating, volunteering and investigating crimes of violence against women and children. In 2017, Ms. Cuillierrier was appointed Senior Advisor on Reconciliation and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

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