Parliamentary Committee Notes: Human Trafficking and Indigenous Populations
Issue:
Human trafficking and the disproportionate representation of Indigenous victims and survivors has been raised, responsive points have been provided below.
Proposed Response:
- Our Government recognizes that Indigenous women and girls continue to be disproportionally targeted by sex traffickers. This deeply concerning fact has been conveyed to us consistently from Indigenous organizations, partners families and individuals.
- In 2019 we launched Canada's National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (the National Strategy), which is funded by an investment of $57.22 million over five years and $10.28 million per year ongoing.
- The National Strategy brings federal efforts together to address human trafficking in Canada under one strategic framework, while reinforcing broader Government of Canada commitments, which includes promoting the safety and security of Indigenous women and girls.
- We are using the National Strategy to invest in trauma-informed and culturally relevant community-based projects, establish a Chief Advisor to Combat Human Trafficking; develop survivor-centric guidelines for front-line community workers; and deliver the National Human Trafficking Awareness Campaign. This year, the campaign has broadened its reach to, and enhanced relevance for, Indigenous audiences, which we know is of the utmost importance.
- More specifically, Public Safety is funding eight organizations to deliver community-based projects that directly serve Indigenous people, with two being Indigenous-led.
- We are also supporting the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking which operates the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline. The Hotline refers callers to local law enforcement, shelters, and other supports and services, including those that are Indigenous-led.
- The Strategy is now in its fifth year and an evaluation is underway to inform on achievements, lessons learned, and areas where concerted attention remains. While progress and achievements have been gained, we know there is more that can be done.
- We are committed to addressing human trafficking and will continue to respond with a view to refining and enhancing our approach according to the needs of, and what is working for, Indigenous people in Canada.
Background:
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). Canada ratified the Trafficking in Persons Protocol and its parent convention, the UNTOC, on May 13, 2002.
Canada has comprehensive criminal laws that prohibit trafficking in persons; as well as other exploitative conduct related to human trafficking. The Criminal Code contains several human trafficking-specific offences, including trafficking in adults, trafficking in children, materially benefitting from human trafficking and removing or destroying documents for the purpose of facilitating this crime. The two main offences (sections 279.01 and 279.011) are punishable by maximum penalties of up to life imprisonment if they also involve kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault or caused the death of a victim. Also, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act targets cross-border trafficking. Section 118 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act prohibits knowingly organizing the coming into Canada of one or more persons by means of abduction, fraud, deception, or use or threat of force or coercion. The offence is punishable by a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $1 million.
The scope of human trafficking in Canada is difficult to determine due to the hidden nature of the crime, difficulties in identifying victims, and victims’ reluctance to report crimes to authorities. Nonetheless, according to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, police-reported incidents on human trafficking in Canada have steadily increased since 2010. The 2022 Juristat on Trafficking in Persons in Canada indicates that, according to police-reported data from 2021, there were a total of 352 victims in incidents involving Criminal Code human trafficking violations; 200 incidents were involving the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The vast majority (96%) of human trafficking victims were girls and women, and overall, most (90%) victims were below the age of 35. Twenty four percent (24%) of victims were girls below the age of 18, and forty five percent (45%) were young women aged 18 to 24. Individuals at risk of victimization include those who are socially/economically disadvantaged, such as Indigenous women and girls, LGBTQ2 persons, migrants, new immigrants, and youth at-risk (e.g. in the child welfare system). Human trafficking can occur in any industry. Migrant workers continue to be at higher risk of forced labour due to language barriers, working in isolated/remote areas, lack of access to services and support, and/or correct information about their legal rights.
In September 2019, the Government launched the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking 2019-2024, which was supported by an investment of $57.22 million over five years and $10.28 million ongoing. These investments are shared among Public Safety Canada (PS); Women and Gender Equality Canada; Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada; Public Services and Procurement Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; and the Canada Border Services Agency. The National Strategy builds on the internationally recognized pillars of prevention, protection, prosecution and partnerships, and incorporates a new pillar of “empowerment”, to enhance supports and services to victims. PS activities under the National Strategy include: the development of guidelines to support the provision of care to victims and survivors of human trafficking; a public awareness campaign; contribution funding for supports for at-risk populations; and the appointment of a Chief Advisor to Combat Human Trafficking.
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 in Spring 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 and survivors to trauma-informed supports and law enforcement. Anyone can reach the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline by phone at 1-833-900-1010 or online using chat, web form or email.
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