Summary of the Horizontal Evaluation of the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking

About the program

The National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (National Strategy) is a five-year (2019-2024) strategy aiming to strengthen Canada’s response to human trafficking. It is a whole of government endeavour that aligns efforts with the internationally recognized pillars of prevention, protection, prosecution and partnership. Canada has added a fifth pillar, empowerment, to enhance support and services to victims and survivors of human trafficking.

The activities under the pillars are the responsibility of many partner departments and agencies, including Public Safety Canada (PS), the Canada Border Services Agency, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, Women and Gender Equality Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Global Affairs Canada, Justice Canada (JUS), and Employment and Social Development Canada.

What we examined

The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the National Strategy. The evaluation covered the period from fiscal year 2019-2020 to 2022-2023.

Evaluation findings

• There is a continued need for the National Strategy to prevent the trafficking of individuals, support victims and survivors, and improve Canadian law enforcement’s ability to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators.
• Empowerment pillar
  • The National Strategy has contributed to community capacity to better support victims and survivors.
  • The National Strategy aimed to empower victims and survivors through a Survivor Advisory Committee, however as of April 2024 it has not been established.
  • PS has provided a centralized website for human trafficking information and funding opportunities.
  • PSPC’s revised Procurement Code of Conduct and new contracting clauses strengthen efforts to prevent human trafficking in federal procurement supply chains.
• Prevention pillar
  • Efforts have been made to increase awareness of human trafficking among the Canadian public and vulnerable populations, though general awareness levels remain low.
  • Training is available for federal government officials who may encounter human trafficking in their work.
  • Partnering with international organizations and governments, particularly on programs to raise awareness, has helped build the capacity of other countries to prevent vulnerable individuals from being trafficked. 
  • Efforts to improve data collection on human trafficking have progressed, however there is a significant need to increase reporting efforts to address data gaps.
• Protection pillar
  • Justice Canada, through the Victims Fund, is supporting non-governmental organizations and victim serving organizations to implement measures to protect victims and survivors.
  • The guidelines and multi-sectoral training tools for front-line community workers, committed to in the National Strategy, have not yet been developed.
  • There are measures in place to protect foreign nationals in Canada from trafficking.
• Prosecution pillar
  • Federal government, law enforcement and criminal justice practitioners have access to tools that may increase their awareness and understanding of the scope, scale, and sensitivities around human trafficking.
  • Project PROTECT is an international financial intelligence best practice that has effectively supported investigations and prosecutions into suspected human trafficking.
• Partnerships pillar
  • Federal government partners are collaborating effectively, both through formal governance and informal mechanisms. Efficiencies could be found to allow for more strategic discussion.
  • Intended partners are involved in the activities of the National Strategy.
  • The National Strategy committed to appointing a high-profile advisor on human trafficking; the position has been vacant since September 2021.
• The greatest areas in need of increased financial resources were the empowerment and prevention pillars to support victims and survivors.
• The performance measurement narrative for the National Strategy would benefit from simplification.

Recommendations

The Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Crime Prevention Branch, PS should:

1. Review and revise the performance measurement approach for the National Strategy, with a focus on reducing the number of indicators, collecting outcome data and simplifying the performance measurement narrative. (PS, with all partners)
2. Document and assess the feasibility of filling data gaps to better understand the extent of human trafficking in Canada. (PS, with support from Statistics Canada)
3. Continue to work toward appointing a high-profile advisor for human trafficking to ensure efforts under the National Strategy are victim-centered and survivor-informed, including working with survivor advisory committees. (PS)

Date modified:

2024-09-12