National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking - 2015-2016 Annual Report on Progress

National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking - 2015-2016 Annual Report on Progress PDF Version (410 Kb)

Foreword
Introduction
- What is Human Trafficking?
- Human Trafficking in Canada
National Action Plan – Progress to Date
Moving Forward
Conclusion
Annex A: Progress Chart on Activities
Annex B: Resources and Links

Foreword

This is the fourth Annual Report on Progress on the implementation of Canada’s National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (National Action Plan), which was launched on June 6, 2012. It covers the period of April 1, 2015 - March 31, 2016. To promote consistency and underline the flow of implementation from year to year, this report follows the format of previous versions.

Federal commitments under the National Action Plan are situated within the internationally recognized ‘4-Ps’ approach: prevention, protection, prosecution and partnerships. They are implemented through the cooperation and collaboration of the federal departments and agencies that make up the Human Trafficking Taskforce.

The National Action Plan has been a living plan. As new information about the scope and nature of human trafficking in Canada comes to light, the Government of Canada continues to enhance its efforts, informed by its engagement with stakeholders and experts across the country on an ongoing basis toward combatting human trafficking in all its forms.

Key achievements in support of the National Action Plan in 2015-2016 include:

In 2006, Ministerial Instructions under subsection 24 (3) of the Immigration and Refugee Act (IRPA) were introduced to allow officers to provide protection to victims of human trafficking by issuing them a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) and an open work permit for the purpose of regularizing their status. A Public Policy was also put in place to exempt victims from paying the fees for these permits. The fee exemption is coded in the IRCC case management software, allowing them to identify victims for reporting purposes.
In May 2015, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) modernized the program delivery instructions for the issuance of TRPs. Work is ongoing to clarify current operational shortcomings on related procedures for victims of human trafficking. In fall 2015, IRCC initiated a blitz of presentations and outreach activities to local IRCC offices with the goal of improving training, forging partnerships and increasing awareness of the policy intended for victims of human trafficking.
The Justice Canada (JUS) Victims Fund provided grants and contributions to support projects that enhance services for victims of human trafficking, which included funding for Concertation des luttes contre l’exploitation sexuelle (Québec). The two year project will provide tools for victims of trafficking and will train caregivers to help them better meet the needs of those who have been trafficked.
Amendments made to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) came into force December 1, 2015, to improve protections for workers by providing tougher employer penalties (administrative monetary penalties and bans) for serious violations.
In March 2016, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) updated the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Manual. The manual guides CBSA officers on the following: detecting instances of TIPs; preventing, identifying and interdicting suspected human traffickers involved in the cross-border movement and exploitation of victims of TIP; contributing to the safety and security of potential victims by separating them from the control of suspected human traffickers and referring them to appropriate government services; and supporting the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking offenders.
CBSA finalized a Human Trafficking Methodological Template for use by international partner agencies. The aim of this joint exercise was to create a common methodological approach to data collection on this topic, which had previously been identified as a gap in an Intelligence Assessment that was jointly conducted by international partner agencies in 2014.
In June 2015, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), along with 21 other police forces, participated in a two-day operation focusing on human trafficking for sexual exploitation in Ontario under Operation Northern Spotlight. The RCMP further participated in a nation-wide version of this initiative in October 2015, coordinated by the Ontario Provincial Police with U.S. counterparts in a joint Canada-US operation. These collaborative operations resulted in the rescue of individuals being trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Members from the RCMP Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre (HTNCC), in conjunction with municipal police agencies, government departments, a non-governmental organization (NGO), and a survivor of human trafficking, provided four one-day human trafficking workshops to front-line law enforcement officers, investigators and prosecutors in Alberta in order to raise awareness about human trafficking issues.
Public Safety Canada hosted its National Forum on Human Trafficking in partnership with the Canadian Women’s Foundation on March 23-24, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario. The forum included NGO stakeholders, members of the Human Trafficking Taskforce and representatives from provincial governments and law enforcement. The purpose of the workshop was to take stock of, prioritize and advance efforts to combat human trafficking.
On December 8, 2015, the Government of Canada launched the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The national pre-inquiry design process took place across Canada from December 2015 to February 2016, which listened to survivors, families and loved ones about how the inquiry could best be designed. The pre-inquiry also received input from national Indigenous organizations, provinces, territories, and experts in Indigenous legal traditions. The pre-inquiry process informed the design of the terms of reference and the mandate of the national independent inquiry. Matters related to human trafficking were raised multiple times through the pre-inquiry process.

These achievements and others undertaken in 2015-2016 are outlined in the following pages. This report also provides an overview of the consultations, engagement with stakeholders, data collection and research undertaken. A formal evaluation of the National Action Plan is under way currently and due to be completed in August 2017. The outcomes of the horizontal evaluation and the valuable information gathered over the past four years will help inform the Government of Canada’s way forward on this important issue.

Introduction

What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking, often described as a modern-day form of slavery, involves the recruitment, transportation, harbouring and/or exercising control, direction or influence over the movement of a person in order to exploit that person, typically through sexual exploitation or forced labour. Traffickers control their victims in various ways, such as taking away their identity documents and passports, sexual abuse, threats, intimidation, physical violence, and isolation.

Organized criminal networks and individuals perpetrate this crime, operating domestically and across borders. Traffickers reap large profits while robbing victims of their freedom, dignity, and human potential, at great cost to the individual and to society at large. Human trafficking represents a consistent and pervasive assault on the fundamental human rights of its victims.

Human Trafficking in Canada

Human trafficking for sexual exploitation continues to constitute the majority of known trafficking cases faced by law enforcement across Canada. It most often occurs in major urban centres and most victims are Canadian women. However, more evidence of human trafficking for forced labour, which often involves foreign nationals, has come to light in recent years.^Footnote1

Vulnerable groups at risk of human trafficking continue to include Indigenous women, youth and children, migrants and new immigrants, at-risk youth, youth identified as LGBTQ2 (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and 2-spirited), runaways, youth residing in care, particularly youth in group homes and those who are socially or economically disadvantaged. At the same time, there have been an increasing number of cases where young girls and women who may not be considered socially or economically disadvantaged are simply manipulated into believing that they are in a romantic relationship with an individual who in turn uses that relationship as a means of controlling the victim in order to exploit them.

As highlighted in the RCMP national threat assessment (2010), human trafficking in Canada is as likely to be orchestrated by organized criminal networks as it is by individual or family-based opportunists. With respect to domestic human trafficking, perpetrators have been affiliated with street gangs. The victims have been mostly recruited through the Internet by an acquaintance or directly by the trafficker. They were groomed, manipulated and coerced to provide sexual services to others. In some cases, the victims have been exploited in locations such as exotic dance clubs and massage parlours or through escort agencies. Some traffickers provided false identification for their victims to feign legal age.

Human Trafficking Offences in Canada

Although the extent of human trafficking is difficult to determine, statistics from the HTNCC (to July 2016) provide some context:

102 human trafficking-specific cases completed since 2005 with human trafficking-specific and/or related convictions, involving 237 victims and 131 accused who received convictions.
Approximately 219 human trafficking specific cases before the courts involving approximately 358 accused and 314 victims.

In addition, findings from ‘Project SAFEKEEPING’, the 2014 RCMP threat assessment on domestic human trafficking for sexual exploitation^Footnote2, indicate that large profits are the primary motivation for individuals to engage in human trafficking. Further, traffickers are usually male; however, females are becoming increasingly involved, often working as a trafficker with at least one male. While the majority of traffickers are adults, underage (under the age of 18 years) males and females are increasingly becoming involved. Underage traffickers commonly work in partnership with other adults and almost always

exploit underage victims. Traffickers force victims to provide sexual services to customers primarily in

Findings from Project Safekeeping, the 2014 RCMP threat assessment on domestic human trafficking for sexual exploitation^Footnote3, indicate that large profits are the primary motivation for individuals to engage in human trafficking. Further, traffickers are usually male; however, females are becoming increasingly involved, often working as a trafficker with at least one male. While the majority of traffickers are adults, underage males and females (under the age of 18 years) are increasingly becoming involved. Underage traffickers, who are often victims themselves, commonly work in partnership with adults and almost always exploit underage victims. Traffickers force victims to provide sexual services to customers primarily in hotels/private residences and in adult entertainment establishments. Traffickers acquire clients primarily through online advertisements and commonly gain and maintain control over their victims by establishing trust through false friendship and romance, psychological control, threats, intimidation and violence.

For cases involving foreign national victims, suspects involved in human trafficking activities mostly operate with associates of similar ethnicity and have ethnic ties to the source countries of their victims. For example, intelligence suggests that organized crime networks with Eastern European links have been involved in the organized entry of women into Canada for employment in escort services in the greater Toronto area and possibly in massage and escort services in the Montreal area. These groups have demonstrated transnational capabilities and significant associations with convicted human traffickers in various countries. Intelligence has found that Eastern European women who have been recruited to work in the Canadian sex trade are vulnerable to being trafficked.

Human trafficking has also been identified in major cities with large Asian populations and established networks of Asian organized crime. Trafficking for sexual exploitation in these communities often occurs in private residences operated and staffed solely by Asian migrants or persons of Asian descent. Some Asian women have been initially recruited for legitimate employment, but were ultimately coerced into selling sexual services once they arrived in Canada. Most Asian women in these circumstances found employment from advertisements in Canadian media. Law enforcement intelligence indicates that some of these women travel inter-provincially and between Canadian cities to sell sexual services in Asian massage parlours or other adult entertainment establishments. Owner-operators manage more than one location simultaneously and rotate their workers between locations or between other owner-operators.

National Action Plan – Progress to Date

Significant progress has been made to date through the four years of the National Action Plan implementation. In 2015-16, efforts and initiatives were pursued both domestically and internationally among governments at all levels, non-governmental entities and key law enforcement, as well as criminal justice and social service stakeholders.

Federally, the Human Trafficking Taskforce (the Taskforce), led by Public Safety Canada (PS) and comprised of key federal departments^Footnote4, remains the federal body responsible for coordinating the Government of Canada’s response to human trafficking. The Taskforce oversees the implementation of the National Action Plan commitments under the ‘4-Ps’ and reports annually on progress to the public. The Taskforce met on a regular basis throughout 2015-2016.

The following pages highlight the progress made on the implementation of the National Action Plan in 2015-2016.^Footnote5

Part I: Prevention

The Government of Canada will support a broad-based prevention strategy focusing on awareness-raising and research activities to prevent human trafficking.

General and targeted awareness-raising and education remain integral to Canada’s prevention efforts. In 2015-2016, the Government of Canada continued to build on these efforts with a number of initiatives.

2015-2016 Key Achievements:

The launch of a national awareness campaign on the domestic sex trafficking of Indigenous peoples living on and off reserves and in rural, urban and northern communities, to help prevent victimization.
Funding to develop, coordinate and deliver the “Educate to Empower Campaign”, a human trafficking awareness campaign aimed at educating youth and those who have a direct relationship to youth (parents, teachers and service providers) about the methods employed by human traffickers to recruit and groom potential victims and the effects of victimization (i.e., isolation, control, exploitation). The Campaign supported prevention, education and early intervention outreach activities specifically designed to engage high-risk young people (ages 12-25) across Ottawa in the fight to prevent human trafficking.
Funding of $99,000 over 17 months was provided to the West Coast Domestic Workers’ Association to enable them to develop and provide public awareness and education about the crime of labour trafficking. These trainings were developed with a focus on migrant workers and other vulnerable workers and their networks of social supports and other service providers. The aim of the project was to provide training and workshops in communities throughout British Columbia, with a focus on communities with little legal access.
A total of approximately $60,000 was provided to Persons Against the Crime of Trafficking in Humans (PACT-Ottawa) in 2015-16. These funds helped support the creation of an action alliance by a circle of aboriginal elders, to help increase the understanding, awareness about human trafficking and ultimately to help it within their communities. The funds also helped PACT-Ottawa adapt its student workshops on human trafficking to the particular needs of three specific communities: Sault Ste-Marie, Thessalon and Manitoulin Island.
Through funds provided by PS (approximately $99,800 over a period of three years), The Salvation Army’s Deborah’s Gate was able to continue and expand its innovative new program, “Life and Living Skills Program for Victims of Human Trafficking”. This program is specialized to support survivors of human trafficking by helping them build back human capacity and develop key life skills through training and skill development. The only program of its kind in Canada, it focuses on areas of growth unique to survivors through weekly programming, classroom instructing, outings and fieldtrips and individual assessments. By addressing the lack of skills and opportunities which can be a root cause of human trafficking, this program plays a key role in providing wrap around care for those seeking the services of Deborah’s Gate.
The second Trilateral Working Group on human trafficking was held in Ottawa in December 2015. This meeting was hosted as part of commitments made during the previous year’s Trilateral meeting in Washington. The meeting was quite successful and well attended by officials from the United States, Mexico and Canada as well as representatives from non-governmental organizations in all three countries. The subjects discussed included information-sharing and the importance of supporting private sector efforts. Officials also discussed the possibility of putting together a training initiative for airline staff to better educate them on indicators of human trafficking and equip them with the proper tools to respond should they identify a potential victim of human trafficking.

As previously reported, in December 2012, Public Safety, in collaboration with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) entered into a partnership with the National Association of Friendship Centres for the development of a national awareness campaign on domestic sex trafficking involving Indigenous victims living on and off reserves and in rural, urban and northern communities, in order to help prevent victimization. This campaign, which included four human trafficking public service announcements developed by Indigenous youth from different regions in Canada, remains available across the country.

Through INAC’s Aboriginal Representation Process (ARO), funding is distributed to projects that partner with national stakeholders to create awareness campaigns, research, videoconference workshops and other activities aimed at promoting family violence prevention awareness.

The RCMP Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre (HTNCC) continued its distribution to Indigenous communities and groups throughout Canada of the “I’m Not for Sale” campaign.

In 2015-2016, the government published new editions of its “Canada’s Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter”, which included updates on federal efforts, as well as highlights of work being done by stakeholders across Canada. The newsletter is published up to four times annually and is available on the Public Safety Canada website. During the last year, contributions to the newsletter were made by federal and provincial/territorial government partners, as well as a number of non-government stakeholders. The newsletter provides a valuable and highly accessible summary of events and initiatives occurring across Canada.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) provides humanitarian and international development assistance to other governments, as well as funding to a number of international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work with governments to address human trafficking, with a core focus on prevention, protection and rehabilitation of trafficking victims and integrating gender equality as a cross-cutting concern. This includes projects funded through the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), which funds small projects responding to local needs, including projects aimed at countering and combatting human trafficking. In 2015, more than $280,000 (CAD) of CFLI funding was used to support 12 different anti-trafficking initiatives in nine countries globally.

Canada has committed $3.5 billion over the 2015-2020 period to support the health and rights of women and children. This investment includes programming to support civil registration and vital statistics systems, including birth registration, which contributes to providing new trafficking prevention tools to national authorities (see key achievements box below for more details on this initiative).

Key GAC Achievement

Canada is working with partners to support country-led efforts to strengthen their civil registration and vital statistics systems, including birth registration. Birth registration establishes the existence of the child under law and provides the foundation for safeguarding many of the child's civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Proof of age, provided by a birth certificate, is central to protecting children from situations of child labour, recruitment into armed forces, and trafficking. If children are separated from their families due to child trafficking, family reunification is facilitated through official birth registration.

In recognition of the importance of birth registration, Canada is supporting the Global Financing Facility (GFF), which aims to end preventable maternal, child and adolescent deaths. The GFF will improve the lives of women, adolescents, and children by ameliorating access to key health services for the most vulnerable and hard to reach. Of Canada’s $220 million contribution to the GFF spread over five years (2015-2020), $100 million has been dedicated to strengthening civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems in eligible countries.

Further, through GAC, Canada is providing an additional $15 million to the Centre of Excellence for CRVS Systems (CoE) at the International Development Research Centre. In collaboration with the GFF, the CoE will support country efforts to develop, strengthen and scale-up effective, integrated and sustainable CRVS systems and will facilitate exchange of knowledge and best practices on CRVS systems.

GAC’s Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program (ACCBP) was created in 2009 to enhance the capacity of beneficiary states to prevent and respond to threats posed by transnational organized crime. The ACCBP has a global mandate with a focus on the Americas, responding to and safeguarding a wide range of Canadian interests in the hemisphere, including trafficking in persons. Although human trafficking is largely a domestic problem in Canada, it is also a transnational crime. As such, the ACCBP has been active in supporting international anti-trafficking efforts across the globe through its support of capacity building projects.

At the Summit of the Americas in Panama City in April 2015, Canada announced more than $5.2 million for human trafficking programming in Central America and the Caribbean. One of these projects, implemented through INTERPOL, aims to enhance regional policing capabilities targeting human trafficking and human smuggling activities in the Caribbean through the provision of specialized training, investigative tools and tactical operational exercises at key border security points throughout the region ($2M). Additionally, the International Bureau for Children’s Rights (IBCR) aims to strengthen Costa Rica’s ability to identify, investigate and prosecute cases of trafficking in persons ($2.26 million). International organizations, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), are building regional anti-human trafficking capacity in Central America by providing technical assistance to the eight member states of the Central American Integration System (SICA) ($1 million).

GAC is also working to combat domestic servitude. With respect to domestic workers in foreign diplomatic households, the Office of Protocol of GAC developed and deployed a more robust framework to address their workplace rights. Through systematic and more targeted outreach to both employees and diplomatic employers, often in coordination with the network of IRCC officers abroad, as well as sweeping compliance reviews, the Office of Protocol sought to prevent and detect instances of abuse or possible forced labor. Further, the Office of Protocol increased coaching and support to its own program officers who are exposed to domestic workers’ files on a daily basis in order to assist them in better deciphering between administrative errors, and deeper or systemic problems that suggest financial or social exploitation.

To support and bolster international efforts to prevent the trafficking in and exploitation of persons for domestic servitude in diplomatic households, the Office of Protocol accepted a joint invitation from the Government of Switzerland and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to sit on a panel convened in November 2015 on the margins of a seminar on human rights focused on the trafficking in persons. The panel was aimed at sharing best state practices on how to strengthen the protection owed to domestic workers and widen measures to practically manage the related and unique challenges. This event coincided with the launch of the French edition of an OSCE handbook, previously published in English, on preventing domestic servitude in diplomatic households, in which Canada’s national practice is now permanently featured.

In response to requests for further information from stakeholders, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated its Temporary Foreign Worker (TFP) Program website to announce a wider breadth of consequences for employers who violate conditions. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has also updated its website to reflect reforms that have had a positive impact on temporary foreign workers.

Additionally, the updated “Temporary Foreign Workers: Your Rights are Protected” pamphlet contains information for temporary foreign workers on their rights while in Canada and resources available to them in the protection of their rights. It is available in seven languages online and in paper format and it was distributed to over 50 vulnerable worker support groups across Canada and nine missions abroad.

The Government of Canada will continue to build upon these initiatives and other prevention efforts already in place as new information on human trafficking in Canada becomes available, including information flowing out of ongoing engagement activities with partners and anti-trafficking stakeholders across the country.

Part II: Protection and Assistance for Victims

The Government of Canada will continue to assist all victims of crime, including trafficking victims; to work with the provinces and territories to deliver services responsive to the needs of trafficking victims; and to promote greater understanding of the needs of trafficked persons with a view to promoting their physical, psychological and social recovery.

In 2015-2016, the Government of Canada continued to undertake efforts towards the protection of and assistance to victims of human trafficking – both Canadian and foreign nationals. This included working with partners to develop resources and tools on how to identify and best respond to the needs of victims, supporting projects and initiatives to enhance services for victims, and efforts to ensure greater protection for those coming to Canada to work temporarily.

2015-2016 Key Achievements:

Making up to $500,000 available annually to support projects to enhance services for victims of human trafficking under the Justice Canada Victims Fund.
Amendments to the IRPR came into force on December 1, 2015, to improve worker protections by providing tougher employer penalties for serious violations.

The Justice Canada (JUS) Victims Fund provides grants and contributions to support projects and activities that encourage the development of new approaches, promote access to justice, improve the capacity of service providers, foster the establishment of referral networks, and/or increase awareness of services available to victims of crime and their families. As of April 1, 2013, the Victims Fund made up to $500,000 available annually to support projects that enhance services for victims of human trafficking.

Projects funded under the JUS Victims Fund (2015-2016) included:

A pilot project from the Action Coalition on Human Trafficking Alberta Association (ACT Alberta) to coordinate services for victims of human trafficking in Alberta, including: streamlining services for victims of human trafficking; collecting and analyzing data on victims of human trafficking; and informing the development of community-based protocols for victim assistance. The key goals of the project are to ensure victims of human trafficking are able to access services and that victim service providers and others are aware of the specific needs of victims of human trafficking.
A three-year project from the Women’s Support Network of York Region (Ontario) to develop an intervention model to provide support and assistance to victims of human trafficking in a coordinated and concerted way between the different community organizations that work to assist these clients.
An initiative from the Prince George and District Elizabeth Fry Society to respond to human trafficking in northern British Columbia. The project involves a train-the-trainer session that enhances the awareness and ability of service providers to address human trafficking in smaller northern communities and their surrounding areas. Over 20 service providers in each community are benefiting from the training and are, subsequently, better equipped to share their knowledge on the issue of human trafficking with others more broadly.
Concertation des luttes contre l’exploitation sexuelle (Québec) received funding for a two-year project, which will provide tools for victims of trafficking and will train caregivers to help them better meet the needs of those who have been trafficked.

In 2012, Status of Women Canada (SWC) launched a call for proposals soliciting applications for projects that address gender-based violence in Canada with four themes, including projects to prevent and reduce the human trafficking of women and girls for the purposes of sexual exploitation through community planning. Three projects (now closed) were funded for a total amount of $600K for a period of up to 30 months in Edmonton, Ottawa and Toronto.

The projects piloted the “Local Safety Audit Guide: To Prevent Trafficking in Persons and Related Exploitation”, which was developed by Public Safety Canada in 2012 as part of its efforts toward prevention. The tool places particular emphasis on vulnerable populations groups of women and girls and can be used to guide the public sector and civil society stakeholders to assess the nature and scope of trafficking and related exploitation, and to develop action plans tailored to specific local context.

They established multi-sector and collaborative partnerships to develop community action plans to respond to the issue of human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation of women and girls by addressing key priorities and the specific needs of their communities (e.g., service improvement, community outreach, etc.).

Diagnostics were completed by conducting a Local Safety Audit to determine the nature and extent of the issue in their communities. A range of key stakeholders (e.g. service providers and community organizations, youth, municipalities, law enforcement and educational institutions) collaborated to identify gaps, priorities and opportunities, and provided recommendations for effective strategies.

The projects resulted in a number of outcomes, including improvements to services by increasing awareness of risk factors to enable identification of and supports for victims, and the development and implementation of a referral protocol for service providers to enhance access to services for victims of sex trafficking.

Additionally, some projects developed a committee or core team of stakeholders specifically dedicated to preventing and reducing the human trafficking of women and girls to lead the initiatives. These projects secured commitments from their partners and key stakeholders to continue implementing the recommendations of the Community Action Plans. For example, in one case, recommendations were integrated into existing crime prevention initiatives and the city committed to implementing several of the recommended strategies. Additional funding was secured from federal government departments by others to continue the implementation of key strategies.

In 2015-16, SWC funded three new projects to prevent and address the human trafficking of women and girls. The projects are working collaboratively to engage key stakeholders to develop and implement prevention and intervention strategies, including improving services for victims and survivors.

Since May 2006, IRCC officers have been authorized to issue TRPs to foreign nationals who may be victims of human trafficking, to allow them to consider their options, escape the influence of traffickers, recover from physical or mental trauma, receive assistance and participate in the investigation of an alleged HT offence in Canada. In 2015, 44 temporary resident permits were issued to victims of human trafficking. This includes 25 subsequent temporary resident permits that were issued to victims of human trafficking to maintain legal status in Canada.

Recent reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program included several additional authorities and initiatives to enhance program integrity and strengthen protections for vulnerable workers. IRCC increased the number of inspections conducted to verify compliance with TFW Program/International Mobility Program (IMP) conditions, including the requirement for employers to maintain a workplace free of abuse and to provide the agreed-to wages and working conditions.

New consequences came into effect on December 1, 2015, that provide proportionate responses to non-compliance committed by employers of foreign workers by replacing the single two-year ban with a range of ban periods (one, two, five, ten years, as well as permanent bans where applicable), warnings, and new financial penalties ($500 to $100,000 per violation). When an employer is banned, or if they fail to pay their administrative monetary penalties (AMP) or follow a payment agreement, they are deemed ineligible to employ foreign workers.

As of November 30, 2014, caregivers are able to live on their own or in the home of the employer while gaining work experience required for permanent residence eligibility, depending on the arrangement agreed to by both parties. By removing the requirement to live in the employer’s home as a condition for eventual permanent residence, the likelihood of caregivers being subjected to employer abuse is reduced. ESDC continues to apply all existing worker protection measures to any temporary foreign workers functioning as caregivers, including those related to accommodations, where applicable. For those who do live in-home, there are special requirements for accommodations, including a door that the worker can lock. Also, for the live-in arrangements, ESDC will no longer allow deductions from wages for accommodation, further reducing the vulnerability of caregivers.

ESDC continues to have the authority to revoke or refuse to process Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for employers that have broken the rules. In these cases, the negative LMIA cannot be used to support a work permit request.

ESDC also continues to liaise with source countries of potentially vulnerable temporary foreign workers, such as primary agriculture workers and seasonal agricultural workers, to increase awareness of resources available to them and enhance their protection. For example, in 2015, ESDC worked closely with Mexico and Caribbean countries to manage worker protection issues in the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program.

The TFWP continues to work closely with other branches and other federal departments to enhance information sharing. The detection of abuse has been improved through ESDC’s anonymous Tip Line and Online Fraud Reporting Tool.

An individual providing representation or advice for a fee or other consideration to a foreign worker or to an employer at any stage of the work permit or to the employer’s LMIA application process must be authorized to do so. Authorized representatives are members in good standing of a law society of a province (including paralegals), the Chambre des notaires du Québec, or the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC), the governing body for immigration consultants designated by IRCC. The Government of Canada does not conduct business with paid representatives who are not authorized under IRPA. This ensures that employers and workers are represented in a professional, competent and lawful manner and helps preserve the integrity of Canada’s immigration programs.

Part III: Detection, Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers

The Government of Canada will build on current efforts to bring traffickers to justice and to strengthen the criminal justice system’s responses to this crime.

Efforts continue to better detect and investigate cases of human trafficking and to bring perpetrators to justice. Cases of human trafficking (for sexual exploitation and forced labour) are being more frequently identified, and more charges are being laid across the country. The number of convictions and cases before the courts has tripled since 2012, increasing from 35 convictions (since 2005) and 80 before the courts to 102 completed cases (since 2005) and 219 cases before the courts in 2015. This is due, in part, to awareness and training efforts across all sectors, including within the criminal justice system (i.e., police, prosecutors and judges), intelligence and information sharing and the concerted efforts of law enforcement across jurisdictions.

The RCMP’s Montreal-based (‘C’ Division) Human Trafficking Unit continues to work with CBSA on human trafficking investigations and various human trafficking initiatives. This team contributes to the RCMP’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking and its country-wide efforts to reduce the number of victims.

Update - Human Trafficking Unit (RCMP C-Division)

The RCMP Human Trafficking Unit has conducted investigations into several suspected cases of human trafficking involving foreign nationals.

The Human Trafficking Unit, in partnership with the Montreal Police Service, continued to conduct awareness interventions for sex-trade workers in massage parlours. This work raises awareness about the risks of falling victim to traffickers while working in the sex-trade and provides information about available support. Furthermore, the RCMP’s Human Trafficking Awareness Coordinator for the Quebec Region continued to intervene with international victims of human trafficking in order to provide continuous support and offer available resources in the community.

The RCMP Human Trafficking Unit has assisted local and provincial police forces with direction and advice on possible investigative cases of domestic human trafficking in an effort to increase the possibilities for success in these investigations.

Operation Northern Spotlight (ONS) is a human trafficking project involving proactive outreach to local sex trade workers to support the identification of individuals who are exploited or at risk. In June 2015, police officers and support staff from 21 police services across Ontario, including the RCMP, interviewed 22 individuals, and ensured the safety of six young women (all under 19 years of age) who had been working in the sex trade against their will. Two individuals were charged with 41 criminal offences. Led by the Ontario Provincial Police, the October 2015 edition of ONS was held in 45 cities across Canada, involving 41 police services, and 348 police officers and support staff. Of the 326 individuals reached, 20 were assisted to leave an exploitative situation and a total of 135 charges were laid against 47 individuals. RCMP personnel from 10 Divisions across the country participated in the October 2015 edition of Operation Northern Spotlight.

The RCMP HTNCC has released two threat assessments on human trafficking within the past several years. Project Seclusion (2010) continues to provide a national overview of human trafficking activities in an effort to identify the extent of organized crime involvement, transnational associations and source countries, as well as issues and challenges faced by police forces. Project SAFEKEEPING (2014) is a baseline threat assessment that provides insight into the nature and extent of domestic human trafficking for sexual exploitation in Canada, including characteristics of traffickers and victims. It also includes a provincial overview of trafficking for sexual exploitation, as well as gaps and challenges pertaining to human trafficking investigations. Overall, the findings of Project SAFEKEEPING provide support to police forces, service providers, government organizations and NGOs in their fight against this crime.

In 2015-2016, the RCMP HTNCC continued to deliver human trafficking training and awareness sessions to a wide audience including law enforcement officials, prosecutors, government employees, non-governmental organizations and Canadian youth. In May/June 2015, the RCMP HTNCC, in conjunction with municipal police agencies, government departments, an NGO, and a survivor of human trafficking, provided workshops in six different cities in Alberta and trained over 200 law enforcement officials. These workshops included, among other topics, an overview of Canada’s human trafficking legislation, case studies and testimony from a human trafficking survivor. This is in addition to ongoing training and awareness provided to RCMP personnel and Canadian law enforcement officials deployed on international missions, including RCMP liaison officers, analysts deployed overseas and Canadian police deploying to UN missions.

Over the past several years the RCMP HTNCC and ESDC (Labour Program) have partnered to raise awareness on human trafficking for forced labour among provincial/territorial labour inspectors and other labour officials, including providing information about indicators of human trafficking, industries at risk, and possible areas of cooperation between federal, provincial, territorial labour officials, law enforcement and other implicated parties. The sessions include information such as basic awareness, intelligence, and indicators of human trafficking for forced labour, industries and workers at risk, as well as various case studies. Since migrant or foreign workers are potentially at risk, raising awareness among front-line labour inspectors helps to mitigate the risk and identify potential victims.

Awareness sessions have taken place in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec since 2010, with the latest occurring in Manitoba in April 2014. Approximately 320 labour officials have benefited from the sessions so far. Such presentations can be delivered, upon request, to other labour department officials and inspectors across the country.

ESDC continually monitors the Tip Line and Online Fraud Reporting Tool, which provides TFWs and the general public with a vehicle to report potential TFW Program and personal abuses. All allegations of potential criminal activity, including human trafficking, are shared with appropriate law enforcement agencies for investigation.

In March 2015, the updated “Handbook for Criminal Justice Practitioners on Trafficking in Persons”, endorsed by the Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Ministers Responsible for Justice and Public Safety in 2013, was published and has since been distributed to law enforcement across the country. The purpose of the Handbook is to provide criminal justice practitioners with guidance in the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases. The Handbook is available online on Justice Canada’s website (http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/tp/index.html).

The Department of Justice Canada (JUS) continued to work closely with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to promote the development of tools to improve the capacity of the international community to criminalize, investigate and prosecute human trafficking. During 2015-2016, Justice Canada worked closely with the UNODC in its development of a Case Digest examining Evidential Issues in Trafficking in Persons Cases.

The CBSA conducts pre-arrival risk assessments of passengers inbound to Canada in order to identify possible victims and facilitators of human trafficking prior to their arrival at the port of entry. Risk profiles and intelligence products associated with human trafficking are created based on previous enforcement actions, intelligence files, and partner information. In addition, the CBSA collected, analyzed, produced and disseminated to relevant internal and external stakeholders intelligence materials related to human trafficking. As trends are identified, reports on human trafficking are widely disseminated to senior executives, operational managers, front-line officers and liaison officers, as well as to federal partners such as the RCMP, IRCC and PS. The CBSA also conducted immigration security screening of adult foreign nationals who seek to enter Canada as temporary residents (TR), permanent residents (PR) or of individuals who make a claim for refugee protection, for involvement in organized criminality, including trafficking in persons.

CBSA Inland Enforcement was involved in a number of investigations into the allegation of human trafficking involving foreign nationals throughout 2015-16. Most investigations were concluded without further enforcement action or referral to another agency due to insufficient evidence. In one case, investigation into an allegation of human trafficking was non-resultant; however, the investigation resulted in an inadmissibility report against a foreign national on other IRPA inadmissibility grounds.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), Canada's financial intelligence unit, continued through the year to pursue its mandate to facilitate the detection, prevention and deterrence of money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities, while ensuring the protection of personal information under its control. FINTRAC’s financial intelligence is used to assist investigations of money laundering and terrorist financing. Illicit proceeds generated from criminal activity such as human trafficking can be laundered or used to support terrorism. In 2015-2016, FINTRAC provided 50 money laundering/terrorist financing related disclosures to partners that were linked to human trafficking.

The above represents highlights of some of the activities undertaken to support the detection, investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases by the Government of Canada in 2015-2016, which the government will continue to build upon in the future.

Part IV: Partnership and Knowledge

The Government of Canada will strengthen its relationship with relevant stakeholders to facilitate the ongoing development of effective policies and tools, to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach; and work to improve its ability to collect, track and report on data related to human trafficking in order to enhance knowledge and adapt our response appropriately, both domestically and on the international stage.

The establishment of strong and effective partnerships, across all sectors, is critical to combatting human trafficking in Canada and internationally. A comprehensive understanding of this ever-evolving crime is integral to the implementation of appropriate responses.

The government continued in 2015-2016 to undertake and seek out new and innovative ways to enhance engagement and promote partnerships at the local, regional, national and international levels to support anti-human trafficking efforts, while striving to increase its knowledge of the issue through research and data collection.

2015-2016 Key Achievements:

Enhanced engagement and collaboration with civil society, including Indigenous organizations, and all levels of government to support knowledge exchange, strengthen partnerships and inform policy responses, which included the Annual Human Trafficking Forum hosted in partnership with the Canadian Women’s Foundation in March 2016.
Remaining apprised of and disseminating the important work undertaken by stakeholders across the country through the Anti-Trafficking Newsletter, published by Public Safety.

Through regular conference calls, the government engaged its provincial /territorial partners throughout 2015-2016. These calls provide FPT government stakeholders with opportunities to share best practices and to share tools being developed to address human trafficking. The health, labour, public safety, immigration, justice and law enforcement sectors are represented on these calls.

Building on the momentum established with the National Forum on Human Trafficking (National Forum) hosted in January 2014 and the Human Trafficking National Stakeholder Workshop in March 2015, PS hosted its National Forum on Human Trafficking in partnership with the Canadian Women’s Foundation March 23-24, 2016, in Toronto, Ontario. The forum included NGO stakeholders, members of the Human Trafficking Taskforce and representatives from provincial/territorial governments and law enforcement. The purpose of the workshop was to take stock of, prioritize and advance activities identified in the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (NAP), while identifying emerging issues and opportunities. In addition, it helped support and enhance connections between stakeholders and policy makers to ensure that the NAP is addressing everyone’s needs.

The event was attended by over one hundred participants. It included plenary sessions, concurrent workshops and a keynote speaker, as well as a World Café with four main themes: root causes; principles to inform policy; frontline response improvements; and outside the box. This year’s National Forum garnered diverse views and perspectives from those who have experienced trafficking, Indigenous women, law enforcement, government representatives and service providers, as well as sex workers. Recommendations for future action focused on a number of areas, including: training for media, prosecutors, law enforcement, and front-line service providers; evidence-based data collection; peer-led outreach and programs; programs that reflect specific cultural and geographic contexts; and wrap-around services for survivors.

Beyond the National Forum, to better protect TFWs, ESDC (TFWP) continues to: negotiate and/or update information-sharing agreements with all provinces and territories, as well as with federal government departments and agencies; negotiate Foreign Worker Annex Agreements; and work with provinces and territories, as well as international organizations, to explore ways to improve information dissemination to employers, TFWs, recruiters and non-governmental organizations.

The CBSA is able to track travel history through the Integrated Customs Enforcement System, which includes passport usage for entry into Canada. This information can be shared with law enforcement partners while respecting information sharing regulations under the Customs Act, Privacy Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The CBSA is in regular contact with IRCC-Passport Program regarding a variety of issues, including human trafficking and is often solicited by IRCC-Passport Program for information. In return, the CBSA receives valuable information that may be used in its intelligence reports.

The CBSA exchanges information related to human trafficking with international partner agencies within the parameters established by the Heads of Intelligence (HINT), and the Five Country Conference (FCC). Intelligence on overall trends relating to human trafficking organizations, trafficking modus operandi and on a case by case basis can be shared to improve the CBSA’s ability to identify and mitigate human trafficking activities.

In 2015-2016, Canada participated in a number of multi-lateral fora to support global

anti-trafficking efforts and promote its domestic achievements abroad, including:

The 7th Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime;
The 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice;
UN General Assembly High-level Meeting to Assess the Implementation of the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons;
Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe;
Organization for American States;
Regional Conference on Migration;
Bali Process;
Trilateral meeting (Canada-Mexico-US); and
International Labour Organization.

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by world leaders in September 2015, is a global framework of action for people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership with the aim to eradicate poverty and to leave no one behind. The Agenda sets out clear commitments to end violence against children, including human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Target 8.7 of the Agenda aims to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers. Canada works with relevant stakeholders to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach to address child trafficking and deliver on the 2030 Agenda.

In terms of successful partnerships, in 2015-2016, GAC continued working with international organizations and foreign governments that support efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly in regions experiencing armed conflict. Canada provided $1 million to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict to promote and protect the rights and welfare of children in armed conflict. The Special Representative’s role includes engaging in high-level advocacy to promote awareness of, and support for global initiatives to end grave violations against children affected by armed conflict, including forcible recruitment of children into armed forces, child labour and sexual exploitation.

Key GAC Partnerships:

The Together for Girls Partnership (UNICEF, $5 million, 2015-2016) is a global public-private partnership dedicated to ending violence against children, with a focus on sexual violence against girls. The partnership includes five UN agencies, the governments of the United States and Canada, several private sector organizations and more than 15 implementing country governments in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Canadian funds to the partnership are helping to implement child-friendly healthcare and education systems in Cambodia. For example, in conjunction with the Cambodian Ministry of Health, Canada is assisting 25 health facilities implement the Child Protection Clinical Handbook for screening, treating, reporting and referral of children subjected to violence and sexual abuse.
The Combatting Trafficking of Children project (International Organization for Migration and the Organization for Security and Cooperation Europe; $8 million, 2014-2020) aims to strengthen the capacity of the Government of Ukraine and civil society organizations to identify, refer, and assist victims of trafficking in line with Ukrainian legislation and international human rights standards, with a focus on children and youth. To date, the project has identified 400 victims of trafficking, including 11 children, and provided them with rehabilitation and reintegration support services. It also trained 198 prosecutors, operational officers, investigators from all regions of Ukraine in combatting human trafficking and held an anti-trafficking public art installation, "Invisible in Plain Sight", in four cities in Ukraine that has been seen by at least 200,000 people.
The Empowering and Supporting the Human Rights of Children and Youth (Ryerson University, $1.5 million, 2012-2018) aims to improve the safety and security for 10,000 boys and girls, often of Haitian origin, in the poorest and most vulnerable communities of the Dominican Republic. It supports enhancing the capacity of government agencies and civil society organizations that are responsible for protecting these children from abuse, and sexual or labour exploitation. The project also strengthens youth participation, and supports the effective implementation of Dominican child protection legislation. The project has resulted in the creation of 72 local community organizations for child protection and over 528 people, including 332 women and girls, who received a certificate in Child Protection.

With respect to enhanced data collection, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics at Statistics Canada revised the 2014 cycle of the Transition Home Survey to include the category ‘human trafficking’ under the question ‘reasons for seeking shelter’. According to this survey information, which was published in July 2015, two percent (67 of 4,476) of women residing in shelters in April 2014 sought shelter due to trafficking.

The above highlights some of the partnership and knowledge development activities undertaken by the Government of Canada in 2015-2016 to support efforts to address human trafficking.

Moving Forward

While the four year National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking concluded in March 2016, Public Safety and its partners are continuing anti-trafficking work and efforts guided by the NAP umbrella. A formal evaluation of the National Action Plan is underway. Moving forward, the outcomes of this evaluation and the information gathered through annual stakeholder consultations will help to inform the development of future anti-human trafficking priorities to be addressed by the Government of Canada.

Conclusion

The Government of Canada will continue to build upon its responses and look for ways to prevent human trafficking through effective and targeted awareness and intervention, to protect and meet the needs of victims and to prosecute offenders. Further progress, however, requires cooperative efforts and information sharing among all levels of government, law enforcement, NGOs and the full range of stakeholders, both nationally and internationally. The government looks forward to continued collaboration with the vast array of experts and stakeholders at home and abroad engaged in combating this crime.

Annex A: Progress Chart on Activities

Action Items Chart

Prevention

Objective 1.1: The Government of Canada will support a broad-based prevention strategy focusing on awareness-raising and research activities to prevent human trafficking.

Task	Deliverable	Timeline	Status	Lead
1.11 Support and develop human trafficking information and awareness campaigns.	Promote online training tool launched by the BC Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	PS, JUS
	NEW: Develop an RCMP Youth Strategy, which will explore various outreach initiatives among young people.	Start: 2015/16	Ongoing	RCMP
	Continue to disseminate awareness materials at Canadian Embassies and High Commissions abroad as well as to stakeholders, foreign workers, provinces and territories, and employers.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	ESDC (TFWP)
	Provide links to other government department websites, immigration programs and human trafficking awareness materials on GAC and embassy websites.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	GAC
	Provide information and recourse to victims on measures available to them, as well as information on the employment rights of temporary foreign workers on the IRCC website.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	IRCC
	Incorporate human trafficking training for overseas immigration officers.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	IRCC
	NEW: Improve methodology for collecting statistics related to victims of HT and conducting data integrity exercise.	Start 2015/16	Ongoing	IRCC
	Create Advocacy tool kit and campaign for use by Canadian Embassies and High Commissions abroad	Start 2014/15	Ongoing	GAC
	Conduct data analysis to identify trends and inform policy.	Start: 2014/2015	Ongoing	ESDC (TFWP)
1.12 Enhance awareness of Government anti-human trafficking efforts.	Provide up-to-date information on Government anti-human trafficking efforts (e.g., periodic reports, legislative updates, resources, news and events) online: Develop and launch ‘Canada’s National Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter; NEW: RCMP to contribute to PS ‘Fast Facts’ as appropriate	Start: 2012/13 2012/13 2015/16	Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing	PS, RCMP
1.13 Prevent Human Trafficking and reduce vulnerabilities abroad.	Through the Children and Youth Strategy, GAC will combat human trafficking in developing countries by: Encouraging partners to review and design programs to consider unsafe migration and human trafficking; Ensuring GAC supported programs and projects consider community-based, and other protection mechanisms for young women and children; Encouraging partners to integrate into curriculum design life skills training programs that tackle safe migration and human trafficking scenarios; Ensuring birth registration is included and promoted in bilateral partner’s frameworks and throughout programming; Targeting GAC programming to women and girls living in poverty, to address the underlying cause of entry into human trafficking circumstances.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	GAC

Protection and Assistance for Victims

Objective 2.1: The Government of Canada will continue to assist all victims of crime, including trafficking victims; to work with the provinces and territories to deliver services responsive to the needs of trafficking victims; and to promote greater understanding of the needs of trafficked persons with a view to promoting their physical, psychological and social recovery.

Task	Deliverable	Timeline	Status	Lead
2.11 Collaborate with civil society and provinces and territories to develop resources and provide training for frontline service providers on responding to the needs of trafficked persons, and to promote a consistent response across Canada.	Provide information on the victim’s state of mind and effects of trauma to criminal justice officials at human trafficking training and awareness sessions.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP
	Explore, through the FPT Victims of Crime Working Group, the development of guidelines/basic principles regarding the treatment of/services to victims of human trafficking.	Start: 2012/13	In progress	JUS
2.12 Provide funding to support provinces and territories and community organizations in improving services for victims of crime, including victims of human trafficking.	The Victims Fund currently makes funding available to projects that improve services to victims of human trafficking and has up to $500,000 specifically designated to such projects.	Start: 2013/14	Ongoing	JUS
	Provide funding, where possible, to projects, including support to female victims of human trafficking, preventative measures such as community safety plans, and collaboration with service providers and law enforcement to better identify cases of suspected human trafficking and individuals at risk of being trafficked.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	SWC INAC
2.13 Protect foreign nationals vulnerable to human trafficking, including female immigrants aged 15-21 years.	IRCC will improve monitoring and enforcement in the international student program.	Start: 2012/13	In progress	IRCC
	Work with provincial/territorial partners to ensure that foreign nationals entering Canada under the International Student Program are genuine and attending quality educational institutions throughout the period of their stay.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	IRCC
	Provide TRPs to foreign national victims of human trafficking. In deciding whether to impose or lift visa requirements, IRCC will consider, among other factors, whether a country has been a significant source country for human trafficking.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	IRCC
	Launch an awareness campaign aimed at strengthening partnerships and coordination between IRCC, CBSA, RCMP and external partners, as well as supporting officers in the field by providing them with tools, resources and training materials such as modernized program delivery instructions for the issuance of TRPs and clarified procedures for victims of human trafficking.	Start: 2014/15	Ongoing	IRCC
	Explore options to enhance protections for vulnerable workers (e.g., agriculture workers, SAWP and low-wage workers).	Start: 2014/15	Ongoing	IRCC, ESDC (TFWP)
	Refer to and work with the Federal Witness Protection Program, as required, when a foreign national victim/witness of human trafficking is deemed eligible under the terms of the program.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP
2.14 Protect Canadians vulnerable to trafficking.	Issue emergency travel documents to Canadian citizens who are victims of human trafficking abroad for repatriation in a timelier manner.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	IRCC
2.14 Protect Canadians vulnerable to trafficking.	Refer to and work with the Federal Witness Protection Program, as required, when a Canadian victim/witness of human trafficking is deemed eligible under the terms of the program.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP

Detection, Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers

Objective 3.1: The Government of Canada will build on current efforts to bring traffickers to justice and to strengthen the criminal justice system’s responses to this crime.

Task	Deliverable	Timeline	Status	Lead
3.11 Provide targeted human trafficking training and education for criminal justice officials.	Provide regular briefings on human trafficking detection methods and best practices to all CBSA staff with human trafficking-related functions and assist in providing the necessary tools to better equip officers to identify and intercept victims, as well as traffickers. The CBSA continues to include training related to the subject of human trafficking within the Officer Induction Training Program for new BSO recruits. From April 2015 to March 2016, 302 recruits completed this training. As well, the CBSA has developed an online course entitled: Trafficking in Persons, which provides the information to help CBSA staff prevent or intercept TIP cases, promote victim safety by referring individuals to government services and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for assistance, and support investigations. There were 151 employees who completed the online training in 2015-16. Updated the Trafficking in Persons chapter of the CBSA Enforcement Manual to provide guidelines to CBSA officers in the detection and interception of perpetrators and potential victims of Trafficking in Persons.	Start: 2011/12 2012/13	Ongoing Ongoing	CBSA
	Explore opportunities to work with the Judiciary, including the National Justice Institute to promote education on human trafficking.	Start: 2012/13	In progress	JUS
	In collaboration with JUS and several stakeholders, develop education and training including: an advanced course on human trafficking at the Canadian Police College (CPC), human trafficking awareness session for RCMP cadets, an online human trafficking course for law enforcement, and incorporate human trafficking training into CPC and Pacific Region Training Centre courses indirectly related to human trafficking (i.e., Organized Crime, intelligence, and the Aboriginal Gang Reduction Strategies course).	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP
	Distribute the ‘I’m Not for Sale’ law enforcement toolkit which provides useful operational information for police investigating trafficking cases, victim assistance guidelines as well as information.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP
3.12 Explore options to raise awareness of human trafficking for forced labour with labour inspectors, officials and TFWP/Service Canada officers.	Continue to monitor new Tip Line and Online Fraud Reporting Tool to identify improvements.	Start: 2014/15	Ongoing	ESDC (Service Canada),
3.13 Enhance intelligence, coordination and collaboration.	Coordinate intelligence on human trafficking and enhance the production, on an ongoing basis, of threat assessments/intelligence briefs on domestic and international human trafficking within a Canadian context.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP
	Maintain partnerships among law enforcement at the municipal, national and international level to improve information and intelligence sharing within the law enforcement community.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP
	When appropriate, conduct parallel proceeds of crime Investigations when conducting human trafficking investigations.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP
	Increase collaboration with law enforcement to revoke the passport or other travel documents of a Canadian trafficker who is charged (inside or outside Canada) with what constitutes an indictable offence and to impose a period of refusal of passport service.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	IRCC
	Collect, analyze, produce, and disseminate intelligence materials related to human trafficking and share with relevant internal and external stakeholders involved in preventing human trafficking.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	CBSA
	Develop and disseminate information with respect to human trafficking trends to stakeholders, consular staff and visa officers on a regular basis.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	CBSA
	Engage IRCC’s Passport Program’s Intelligence Division to collect and analyze data related to human trafficking and where there are indicators that a situation may trigger the revocation or refusal process, forward the file to the Investigations Division.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	IRCC , CBSA
	Increase collaboration with law enforcement in order to include on IRCC Passport program’s System Lookout individuals who are under investigation or who have been charged with criminal offences in regards to human trafficking and when possible, share information to confirm suspect’s identity and assist in the prosecution.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	IRCC
	Promote bilateral cooperation through Mutual Legal Assistance and extradition treaties.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	GAC JUS
	Provide designated information to partners relevant to investigations or prosecutions of suspected money laundering activity related to human trafficking and monitor and assess financial transactions to identify trends and patterns specific to the laundering of illicit proceeds related to human trafficking.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	FINTRAC
	Participate in INTERPOL Taskforce on human trafficking to exchange intelligence, awareness and best practices among the international law enforcement community.	Start: 2011/12	Ongoing	RCMP
	Collaborate with partners to deny entry to Canada to foreign nationals who are inadmissible on grounds of organized criminality for engaging in transnational trafficking in persons.	Start:	Ongoing	CBSA
3.14 Support Investigations and Prosecutions.	Develop and make widely available materials to assist front-line criminal justice personnel in the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking in Canada (e.g., issue fact sheets).	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	JUS
3.14 Support Investigations and Prosecutions.	Provide expertise to police of jurisdiction on human trafficking investigations.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP
3.15 Ensure that strategies are in place to assess for human trafficking as part of large scale irregular arrivals.	When it is believed that a Canadian travel document was misused, use IRCC Passport Program’s database of photographs to identify individuals or detect/identify fraud and/or imposters.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	IRCC, RCMP
	Employ an operation contingency plan to investigate and assess Criminal Code of Canada and IRPA offences, including human trafficking, amongst persons who come to Canada as part of large-scale irregular arrivals.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP
3.16 Enhance protocols and information technology (IT) systems to improve detection of labour exploitation, including human trafficking.	Explore developing predictive analytic models to identify trends and risk factors.	Start: 2014/2015	Ongoing	ESDC (Service Canada)

Partnership and Knowledge (Domestic and International)

Objective 4.1: The Government of Canada will strengthen its relationships with relevant stakeholders to facilitate the ongoing development of effective policies and tools, to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach; and work to improve its ability to collect, track and report on data related to human trafficking in order to enhance knowledge and adapt our response appropriately, both domestically and on the international stage.

Task	Deliverable	Timeline	Status	Lead
4.11 Enhance engagement and collaboration with civil society and all levels of government to support knowledge exchange, strengthen partnerships and inform policy responses.	Hold regular discussions with civil society and provinces and territories to share information on combatting human trafficking, including inviting these stakeholders to present and discuss current issues on an ad hoc basis.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	PS (in consult with HTT)
	Provide awareness sessions to civil society to enhance the understanding of human trafficking, strengthen relationships and possibly identify and assist victims.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP
	Through the Contribution Program to Combat Serious and Organized Crime (formerly the Contribution Program to Combat Child Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking), strengthen and engage partnerships with civil society and provinces and territories and provide financial support for approved, time-limited projects.	Start: 2011/12	Ongoing	PS
	To better protect TFWs, ESDC is seeking to expand collaboration and coordination with federal departments, provinces and territories (P/Ts) and international organizations. Planned activities include (i) negotiating and updating information sharing agreements with key federal departments and P/Ts to support, for example, each jurisdiction’s employer compliance activities; (ii) negotiating Foreign Worker Annex Agreements with P/Ts to identify ways to support the mutual interest of worker protections, including developing information packages and protocols to provide information to TFWs related to their rights and services; and (iii) working with international organizations, such as International Organization for Migration, to explore ways to improve information dissemination to employers, TFWs, recruiters and non-governmental organizations.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	ESDC (TFWP)
	Negotiate new and amended information sharing agreements with federal government partners and with provinces and territories to enhance the administration and enforcement of the International Mobility Program.	Start: 2014/2015	Ongoing	IRCC (IMP)
	Explore methods to increase data and information sharing among departments and partners to inform data-driven approaches to identify risks and trends related to human trafficking activities.	Start: 2014/2015	Ongoing	ESDC (Service Canada)
	Enhance information sharing across federal departments on domestic and international issues related to human trafficking and forced labour.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	ESDC (Labour Program)
4.12 Increase public diplomacy efforts and exchange of reporting between Canadian Government Departments and Canadian Embassies based in source countries.	Request regular human trafficking reporting, research and analysis by Canadian missions through outreach to foreign experts in source and transit countries.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	GAC
	Monitor and share data on the use of Canadian passports/travel documents through partnership networks of law enforcement and border control agencies at the domestic and international level to prevent human traffickers from travelling.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	IRCC, CBSA
4.13 Systematically report on official data through existing data collection systems and disseminate publically on an annual basis.	Publish details of non-compliant employers on public website.	Start: 2013/14	Ongoing	ESDC (TFWP) IRCC(IMP)
	Provide aggregated data on requests regarding specifics to offenders and victims of human trafficking to further the understanding of the crime.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	StatsCan
	Regularly release disaggregated data pertaining to Temporary Resident Permits issued to foreign national victims of human trafficking.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	IRCC
4.14 Partner with international organizations and foreign governments to increase capacity to prevent and combat human trafficking.	Through Global Affairs Canada’s Anti-Crime Capacity Building Programme (ACCBP) support projects to build capacity in key source and transit countries to combat human trafficking.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	GAC
	Build capacity of law enforcement in developing countries to protect children and youth, especially girls, from violence, exploitation and abuse, and to combat human trafficking.	Start: 2011/12	Ongoing	GAC (Development)
	Promote the ACCBP and the Global Peace and Security Fund (GPSF) to international organizations, NGOs, and partner countries in order to support projects in source and transit countries that combat human trafficking with a focus on organized crime networks.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	GAC
	Promote Canada’s domestic achievements and share best practices on combating human trafficking through participation in international fora and with multi-lateral organizations (i.e., UN, OAS, ASEAN, IOM, ILO, North American Leaders Summit, G7, Santa Marta Group) and sub-regional mechanisms such as the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM).	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	GAC, IRCC, RCMP, PS, others
	Where possible, make human trafficking (and migrant smuggling) an area of discussion during bilateral interactions between Canada and source and transit countries – particularly in the Americas.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	GAC
	Use diplomatic protocols to promote regional and international partnerships, policies and capacity building to combat human trafficking and child exploitation.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	GAC
	Liaise with source countries of potentially vulnerable temporary foreign workers employed as caregivers, primary agriculture workers and seasonal agricultural workers to increase awareness of available resources to foreign workers and enhance protections for vulnerable workers.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	ESDC (TFWP)
	Leverage international resources, such as liaison officers, the CBSA will work with like-minded international organizations to address human trafficking issues, and where resources permit and as deemed appropriate by senior officials, contribute to broader Government of Canada confidence-building measures that aim to counter human trafficking activities.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	CBSA
	Engage subject matter experts in capacity building initiatives.	Start: 2012/13	Ongoing	RCMP, CBSA, JUS
	Include emphasis on human trafficking within the delivery of Canada’s Action Plan to implement UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, which together calls for special consideration, during and after conflict, to the differential impact of conflict on women and girls and calls states to ensure that the rights and well-being of women and girls are integrated into peace processes and other responses to armed conflict. Renewal of the Action Plan was announced by the Government of Canada announced its renewal on March 8, 2016.	Start: 2011/12	In progress	GAC PS, RCMP, JUS
	Participate in the G7 Roma-Lyon Law Enforcement and Migration Experts Sub-groups to analyze emerging issues and discuss and develop program and policy strategies and best practices related to organized crime in the migration context.	Start: 2000/2001	Ongoing	CBSA, RCMP, PS

Annex B: Resources and Links

Canadian Legislation (CCC and IRPA Human Trafficking Offences)
http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/tp/legis-loi.html

Government of Canada Human Trafficking Website
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/cntrng-crm/hmn-trffckng/index-eng.aspx

National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (2012)
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/ntnl-ctn-pln-cmbt/index-eng.aspx

National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking: 2012-2013 Annual Report on Progress
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2013-ntnl-ctn-pln-cmbt-hmn/index-eng.aspx

National Summary Report: 2012-2013 Human Trafficking Stakeholder Consultations
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2013-hmn-trffckng-stkhldr/index-eng.aspx

Local Safety Audit Guide: To Prevent Trafficking in Persons and Related Exploitation
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/lcl-sfty-dtgd/index-eng.aspx

Canada’s Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/cntrng-crm/hmn-trffckng/rsrcs-eng.aspx

RCMP ‘I’m Not for Sale’ Campaign
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ht-tp/publications/index-eng.htm

RCMP ‘I’m Not for Sale’ Youth Campaign
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ht-tp/publications/index-eng.htm

Human Trafficking in Canada: A Threat Assessment (2010)
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ht-tp/publications/index-eng.htm

Project SAFEKEEPING: Domestic Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation in Canada (2013)
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ht-tp/publications/2013/proj-safekeeping-eng.htm

Introduction to Human Trafficking Online Training Course for Law Enforcement and Prosecutors
www.cpkn.ca

‘Temporary Foreign Workers: Your Rights are Protected’ pamphlet (multiple languages)
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/index.asp

Welcome to Canada Guide
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/index.asp

‘Human Trafficking: Canada is Not Immune’ online training program
http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/octip/training.htm

PACT Ottawa – TruckSTOP campaign
http://www.pact-ottawa.org/truckstop.html

Native Women’s Association of Canada: Our Spirits are NOT for Sale - A Handbook for Helping Sexually Exploited Aboriginal Women and Girls (2015)
http://www.nwac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Our-Spirits-are-NOT-for-sale-English-web-version.pdf

Footnotes

1
The first human trafficking cases for forced labour where convictions were secured involved mostly men who were recruited from their native Hungary to work for a construction business. They were promised steady work, good pay and a better life but once in Canada, the victims were mistreated: working long hours without pay, fed very little food, kept under tight control, and threatened with harm to their families if they did not comply. Activities in Canada included human trafficking and welfare fraud.
2
For more information or to request a copy of ‘Project SAFEKEEPING’ please contact the RCMP HTNCC at htncc-cnctp@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or 1-855-850-4640.
3
Membership consists of PS, CBSA, RCMP, IRCC, INAC, GAC, SWC, JUS, ESDC (TFWP) and ESDC (Labour Program). Additional departments participate on an ad hoc basis (e.g., DND, FINTRAC, PPTC, PHAC, PPSC, Stats Can).
4
A full compendium of Government of Canada efforts and progress to date can be found in Annex A.
5
To request a copy of either ‘Project SAFEKEEPING’ or ‘Project SECLUSION’, please contact the RCMP HTNCC at htncc-cnctp@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or 1-855-850-4640.

Date modified:: 2022-08-16

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National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking - 2015-2016 Annual Report on Progress

Table of contents

Foreword

Introduction

What is Human Trafficking?

Human Trafficking in Canada

Human Trafficking Offences in Canada

National Action Plan – Progress to Date

Part I: Prevention

2015-2016 Key Achievements:

Key GAC Achievement

Part II: Protection and Assistance for Victims

2015-2016 Key Achievements:

Projects funded under the JUS Victims Fund (2015-2016) included:

Part III: Detection, Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers

Part IV: Partnership and Knowledge

2015-2016 Key Achievements:

Key GAC Partnerships:

Moving Forward

Conclusion

Annex A: Progress Chart on Activities

Annex B: Resources and Links

Footnotes