National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking

National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking PDF Version (406 KB)

Foreword

Human trafficking is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable, often described as modern-day slavery. This crime robs its victims of their most basic human rights and is occurring in Canada and worldwide. The victims, who are mostly women and children, are deprived of their normal lives and compelled to provide their labour or sexual services, through a variety of coercive practices all for the direct profit of their perpetrators. Exploitation often occurs through intimidation, force, sexual assault and threats of violence to themselves or their families.

Human trafficking is a complex issue with a diverse range of victims and circumstances. In Canada, we have seen instances of trafficking for sexual exploitation and labour exploitation. We have seen both Canadian victims and foreign national victims. We have seen men, women, and children fall prey to this terrifying reality.

As part of our Government's longstanding commitment to protect the vulnerable, tackle crime and safeguard Canadians and their families in their homes and communities, we are taking action against these terrible crimes.

Canada was among the first countries to ratify the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. Our efforts are guided by this Trafficking Protocol and seek to prevent trafficking from occurring, protect victims of human trafficking, bring its perpetrators to justice and build partnerships domestically and internationally. To effectively combat this issue will require the involvement not only of the federal government, but of provincial and territorial governments as well. And to be successful, governments must also work closely with law enforcement, civil society and others.

While many initiatives are underway, both at home and abroad, the time has come to consolidate all of the activities into one comprehensive plan with an unwavering pledge to action. The Government of Canada's National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking proposes strategies that will better support organizations providing assistance to victims and helps to protect foreign nationals, including young female immigrants who arrive in Canada alone, from being subjected to illegitimate or unsafe work.

The National Action Plan builds on our current responses and commitment to work together with our partners to prevent and combat this disturbing crime. It leverages and builds on Canada's international and domestic experience to date and provides aggressive new initiatives in order to address human trafficking in all its forms.

I commend those who have already shown their commitment to ending this horrific crime for their hard work and dedication. I am confident that as we move forward as a country, we will be able to effectively address this issue in Canada and in the international arena as well. In releasing this National Action Plan, we are sending a clear message that Canada will not tolerate this crime, that victims will be given the help they need, and that perpetrators will be brought to justice.

Minister of Public Safety

Introduction

Globally, it is estimated that human trafficking is amongst the most lucrative of criminal activities, rivaled only by drug and firearms trafficking and generating billions of dollars annually for sophisticated criminal organizations.

At any given time, it is believed that worldwide at least 2.451 million people are forced to perform degrading, dehumanizing and dangerous work in conditions akin to slavery. At the same time, it is estimated that the numbers continue to increase. It is not known whether this increase is due to improved efforts to investigate, detect and report this crime or whether it is due to an actual increase in the incidence of the crime worldwide. This crime is taking place in Canada, where human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is, to date, the most common manifestation of this crime and where the vast majority of the victims are Canadian women and children.

What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, harbouring and/ or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a person in order to exploit that person, typically through sexual exploitation or forced labour. It is often described as a modern form of slavery.

Human trafficking is often confused with human smuggling, so what are the differences?

Consent: The smuggling of migrants, while often undertaken in dangerous or degrading conditions, involves migrants who have consented to the smuggling. Trafficking victims, on the other hand, have either never consented or, if they initially consented, that consent has been rendered meaningless by the coercive, deceptive or abusive actions of the traffickers.

Exploitation: Smuggling ends with the migrants' arrival at their destination, whereas trafficking involves the ongoing exploitation of the victim.

Transnationality: Smuggling is always transnational, whereas trafficking may not be. Trafficking can occur regardless of whether victims are taken to another State or only moved from one place to another within the same State.

United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime

Organized criminal networks, as well as individuals, perpetrate this crime, operating within Canada's borders and internationally. Traffickers reap large profits while robbing victims of their freedom, dignity and human potential at great cost to the individual and society at large. Traffickers control their victims in various ways such as taking away their identity documents and passports, sexual abuse, threats, intimidation, physical violence, and isolation.

Victims suffer physical or emotional abuse and often live and work in horrific conditions. They may also face fatal consequences if they attempt to escape. This crime represents a consistent and pervasive assault on the fundamental human rights of its victims.

He told her that he had control over her, that she belonged to him and that he could do anything he wanted to her. He became more and more abusive with her, both physically and verbally. He threatened to kill her and told her that, if she reported him to the police, he could easily hire someone to kill her for a couple of rocks of crack. He told her that if she fled, he would end up finding her and that he would stab her [translation].

Excerpt from the decision of the court in R v. Urizar, Court of Québec, Criminal Division

While it is impossible to truly know the full scope and impact of this problem at the international or Canadian level, we do know that women and children are the primary victims -overwhelmingly so for sexual exploitation but also for forced labour - however, men are not immune to this crime.

The extent of human trafficking, either in Canada or internationally, is difficult to assess due to the hidden nature of these offences, the reluctance of victims and witnesses to come forward to law enforcement and the difficulty of identifying victims in practice. Moreover, these cases often go unnoticed and unreported due to manipulation, fear, threats from traffickers, shame, language barriers or mistrust of authorities.

A set of interrelated "push" and "pull" factors contribute to human trafficking. "Push" factors include extreme poverty, unemployment, lack of education, inadequate social programs, gender-based inequality, corruption, war and conflict situations, and political unrest in countries of origin. "Pull" factors include the perceived financial rewards of cheap, exploitative labour practices in some economic sectors. Victims may also be 'pulled' into trafficking through the promise of money and what is portrayed as or believed to be a better life.

Human trafficking is often characterized as a "low risk/high reward activity" because of the fact that the crime is clandestine, therefore difficult to detect and investigate, which contributes to the relatively low prosecution rates worldwide. Victims can be exploited over and over for the financial or material benefit of the traffickers making this crime lucrative. The United Nations (UN) has estimated that this illegal activity generates approximately $32 billion2 (US) annually for its perpetrators.

The United Nations, including the General Assembly (UNGA), Security Council (UNSC), Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and the Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) regularly contribute to the global research, prevention and protection landscape on human trafficking. Canada strongly supports anti-human trafficking activities in these various fora and offices, as well as those which are specifically dedicated to the fight against trafficking including the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.

Human Trafficking in Canada

In Canada, human trafficking often takes place in large urban centres, and also occurs in smaller cities and communities, largely for the purpose of sexual exploitation. We know that men, women and children fall victim to this crime, although women represent the majority of victims in Canada to date. More generally, those who are likely to be at-risk include persons who are socially or economically disadvantaged, such as some Aboriginal women, youth and children, migrants and new immigrants, teenaged runaways, children who are in protection, as well as girls and women, who may be lured to large urban centres or who move or migrate there voluntarily. Young women are sometimes recruited by younger male members of street gangs who use the promise of affection as a tool to recruit them.

As part of the Government's efforts, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police conducted Canada's first Human Trafficking Threat Assessment, which reviewed cases and intelligence between 2005 and 2009 to determine the extent of this crime in 20103. The Threat Assessment confirmed that vulnerable, economically challenged and socially dislocated sectors of the Canadian population represent a potential pool of trafficking victims. It noted that non-Canadian victims are often brought to Canada from countries in Asia, notably Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as countries in Eastern Europe.

More recently, increased evidence of human trafficking for forced labour has come to light. Investigations of such cases have occurred across the country with charges being laid in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia. Cases encountered to date suggest that human trafficking for forced labour is more prevalent in Alberta and Ontario. Labour-related intelligence and investigations have involved foreign nationals, both male and female, from the Philippines, India, Poland, China, Ethiopia, Mexico, Thailand and Hungary. In addition, there are indications that some foreign nationals are illegally transported and subsequently exploited by the employers as domestic servants.

Obtaining cooperation from foreign victims has been particularly challenging for law enforcement. Foreign victims who were trafficked are usually in the country alone, without family or a support system, and may be obstructed by language barriers. Also, they may not always see themselves as victims of human trafficking. In most cases, they are skeptical of police and see very little value or nothing to gain from cooperating with police.

The Threat Assessment reports that investigations and intelligence have identified both men and women migrant workers as a vulnerable group for forced labour. Investigations into claims of labour exploitation have centred on the treatment of migrant workers, and in some cases, the fraudulent use of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program by third parties.

"We were treated like dogs on a short leash… To this day I don't go out after dark because of all the threats. I have also received threats against my mother in Hungary".

- Victim Impact Statement (Hamilton forced labour case)

This Threat Assessment was the first significant overview identifying trends in Canada, providing strategic guidance for enforcement efforts. It has also guided government action by strengthening policies and programs to: better prevent and combat trafficking, address the needs of victims, and target traffickers. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police conducts threat assessments on this crime on an ongoing basis.

Canada's Criminal Law Responses

The Criminal Code of Canada (Criminal Code) contains the tools to hold traffickers accountable and includes four specific indictable offences to address human trafficking, namely sections 279.01 (Trafficking in persons), 279.011 (Trafficking of a person under the age of eighteen years), 279.02 (Material benefit), and 279.03 (Withholding or destroying documents).

Many other Criminal Code offences can also apply to human trafficking cases including kidnapping, forcible confinement, uttering threats, extortion, assault, sexual assault, prostitution-related offences, and criminal organization offences.

Section 118 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) contains a provision that prohibits the bringing into Canada of persons by means of abduction, fraud, deception or use of threat of force or coercion. It carries a maximum penalty of a fine of up to $1 million and/or up to life imprisonment.

The Criminal Code also contains measures designed to make testifying less traumatic for victims and other vulnerable witnesses. Testimonial aids, such as a screen that prevents the witness from seeing the accused, the use of closed-circuit television that permits the witness to testify from outside the courtroom or the presence of support persons may be made available in appropriate circumstances. Other measures that may be available are publication bans on information that would identify a complainant or witness and, in some cases, orders excluding the public from the courtroom.

See Annex A for Canadian anti-trafficking legislation.

Government of Canada Response

The National Action Plan will consolidate ongoing efforts of the federal government to combat human trafficking and introduce aggressive new initiatives to prevent human trafficking, identify victims, protect the most vulnerable, and prosecute perpetrators. A compendium of Canadian efforts on both the domestic and international stage can be found in Annex B.

In line with internationally accepted best practices, outlined in the Trafficking Protocol, Canada focuses on four core areas, known as the 4-Pillars (the 4-Ps):

• The prevention of human trafficking.
• The protection of victims.
• The prosecution of offenders.
• Working in partnership with others both domestically and internationally.

The following pages highlight the key elements and activities that will be pursued at home and abroad under the National Action Plan. A full compendium identifying activities and the departments responsible can be found in Annex C.

A Human Trafficking Taskforce, led by Public Safety Canada and comprised of key departments, will replace the Interdepartmental Working Group on Trafficking in Persons and be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the National Action Plan commitments under the 4-Ps and for coordinating the federal anti-human trafficking response and reporting annually on progress to the public.

"Human trafficking and all forms of child exploitation is a horrific abuse of human rights and impacts all of us. Defeating it must unite us all as a nation in the fight to protect our most vulnerable citizens."

Joy Smith, Member of Parliament for Kildonan-St. Paul

The Government will be investing over $6M on an annual basis on Human Trafficking activities, including:

* Beginning in 2013/14

Prevention

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

The Government's view is that prostitution victimizes the vulnerable and that demand for sexual services can be a contributing cause of human trafficking. Prevention is a critical component in responding to human trafficking. The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of developing holistic strategies that address the root causes and risk factors that can lead to human trafficking and related forms of exploitation, and that will assist in reducing the levels of victimization and the harms associated with it. Successful prevention strategies must be developed and implemented at all stages of the prevention continuum, from awareness raising through to prevention of re-victimization.

Action Highlights

• Promote training for front-line service providers
• Support and develop new human trafficking awareness campaigns within Canada
• Provide assistance to communities to identify people and places most at risk
• Distribute awareness materials at Canadian embassies and high commissions abroad
• Strengthen Child Protection Systems within the Canadian International Development Agency's programs targeting children and youth

To date, the Government of Canada has focused on training law enforcement officials and raising the public's awareness of this crime. Moving forward, the National Action Plan will continue these efforts but will enhance awareness activities by tailoring information to various audiences including with our partners overseas. In addition, the Plan will focus on assisting communities to identify people and places most at-risk of human trafficking so that prevention and intervention efforts can be better targeted.

Under the National Action Plan, efforts will continue to focus on targeted training for first responders and service providers because they are often the first point of contact and provide victims with essential care and emergency relief. This includes promoting the online training tool developed for front-line service providers developed by the British Columbia Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons through a partnership with the Government of Canada. The training of font-line service providers and enforcement officials will continue to strengthen prevention and protection efforts.

The Government of Canada will increase its prevention and awareness efforts in several ways. The Government will develop a new and enhanced web page that includes updates on the Government of Canada's efforts, resources, awareness materials and events. The Government will also align national education, information and awareness campaigns and develop campaigns tailored for specific audiences. Some of these campaigns include a "TruckSTOP" campaign to prevent human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation; distribution of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's "I'm Not for Sale" campaign including to large communities of First Nations, Inuit and Métis; a youth campaign; and, distribution of awareness materials at Canadian Embassies and Consulates.

In addition, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada will develop awareness products for temporary foreign workers, employers, third parties, and Service Canada officers, including working with Citizenship and Immigration Canada to update and translate into five (5) foreign languages a brochure informing temporary foreign workers, including international students who may work in Canada, of their rights and providing important contact information.

There are still many gaps in our knowledge about how human trafficking plays out in Canada, including in Aboriginal communities. Indeed, much of the information in this area is anecdotal. To address the particular context out of which the exploitation of Aboriginal men, women, boys and girls arises, the Government of Canada will raise awareness about trafficking that focuses on prevention, and provide culturally and historically informed training to enforcement officials on the circumstances that may contribute to human trafficking within Aboriginal communities.

The Government of Canada will also develop national and local diagnostic tools to assist with the identification of populations and places most at-risk of trafficking in Canada. In addition, this tool will gather information on related forms of exploitation, and identify resources and populate an inventory of prevention practices. These efforts will inform prevention strategies at the national and local levels and allow better targeting of prevention efforts.

Canada will also seek to prevent human trafficking internationally. Under the Children and Youth Strategy, the Canadian International Development Agency supports a range of programs which address the factors that make children and youth vulnerable to human trafficking. These include investments in health and education, and programs to ensure that schools are safe and free from violence and which protect the human rights of children and youth. Through this Strategy, the Government of Canada will support international partners to increase capacity to prevent and combat human trafficking by developing tools, resources and by providing training to properly equip partners to review and design programs with consideration of unsafe migration and human trafficking risks; ensuring investments include support for community-based women and youth protection mechanisms; ensuring investments in education include the systematic incorporation of curriculums that tackle safe migration and human trafficking scenarios; and, ensuring birth registration is included and promoted in bilateral partners' frameworks and throughout programming.

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.

Every trafficked person requires a range of support measures to address their particular needs and to assist them in recovering physically, psychologically and socially. In the case of foreign national victims, they may require additional supports and services including, for instance, some form of immigration status.

Comprehensive protection for trafficked persons encompasses many things. First and foremost, it requires the identification of victims of trafficking in a timely manner to ensure their safety and separation from their traffickers and to provide access to immediate health care needs.

The Government of Canada condemns all forms of forced labour, including exploitation tied to human trafficking. Both foreign nationals and Canadian workers benefit from the efforts of the federal government, the provinces and territories which have responsibility for the enforcement of labour standards, occupational health and safety, and labour relations within their own jurisdiction. Furthermore, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada work together with a range of partners on key issues related to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, a program that supports Canada's economic growth while providing appropriate protections to foreign nationals beyond those in place under provincials and territorial laws. This includes ongoing efforts to ensure that the Live-in Caregiver Program remains fair and equitable for both workers and employers, and that measures are in place to protect participants' rights and security.

Action Highlights

• The Victims Fund currently makes funding available to projects that improve services to victims of human trafficking and will, beginning in 2013/14, have up to $500,000 specifically designated for such projects.
• Identify and protect domestic nationals and foreign nationals in Canada, who are vulnerable to human trafficking, including female immigrants aged 15-21.

To protect and meet the needs of trafficking victims, the Government of Canada has taken many steps, such as enabling immigration officers to issue short-term temporary resident permits to foreign national victims of human trafficking and providing interim federal health care for such victims. Furthermore, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will consider opportunities for improving current measures in this area. In deciding whether or not to impose or lift visa requirements, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will consider, among other factors, whether a country has been a significant source country for human trafficking.

The Government will also provide support to victims and victim serving organizations through the Department of Justice Victims Fund, which allows provinces and territories and non-governmental organizations to request funding to enhance services for Canadian and foreign national victims. It also provides financial assistance to victims of human trafficking in specified circumstances.

Because women and girls are most often victims of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, the Government will invest in initiatives to end violence against women and girls. For example, Status of Women Canada's programming priority area, "Ending violence against women and girls", includes project funding to support female victims of human trafficking.

Since 2010, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada have taken steps to improve protections for temporary foreign workers and reinforce employer compliance with program requirements. In April 2011, regulatory changes were implemented to the broader Temporary Foreign Worker Program that, among other provisions, improves the assessment of job offer genuineness, and would deny program access to employers who do not abide by the terms of their job offers. In April 2010, regulatory and administrative changes to the Live-In Caregiver Program - a component of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program - were implemented to increase protections and program flexibility. Changes included live-in caregivers receiving employer-paid benefits (i.e., transportation to Canada, workplace safety insurance and medical coverage until they are eligible for provincial coverage). In addition, an enhanced mandatory employment contract now protects them with respect to hours or work, overtime and other leave entitlements.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada will work on amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations based on proposed legislative text that was tabled on April 26, 2012 as part of the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act that are expected to afford the departments greater authority to monitor employer compliance with program requirements, as well as stronger consequences in cases of non-compliance.

Furthermore, through better prevention and detection, the Government will implement measures to improve the protection of vulnerable foreign nationals, including female immigrants who arrive alone in Canada, from forced labour and sexual exploitation at an early stage. Canada Border Services Agency will undertake efforts to raise awareness with vulnerable foreign nationals at ports of entry. Also, in order to better protect vulnerable persons who are at risk of being trafficked into Canada to work in situations where they could be subject to exploitation, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada will explore options to prevent the sex trade from accessing the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.  The Government of Canada will also 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 their period of stay.

To protect foreign nationals from labour exploitation, including through human trafficking, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada will enhance its information and awareness materials for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and will also improve internal detection and prevention protocols to identify high-risk employers and explore policy development for on-site employer visits. It will also explore improvements to employer monitoring in the Live-in Caregiver Program. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada will continue to monitor recent enhancements to the protection of live-in caregivers, while considering the need for further changes.

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.

The Government of Canada is committed to combating and disrupting criminal organizations and others involved in the trafficking of people to Canada and within Canada. Canada has a comprehensive legal framework which facilitates the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases and contains measures that support the participation of vulnerable victims/witnesses in the criminal justice process5.

The Government supports Private Member's Bill C-310, 'An Act to amend the Criminal Code (trafficking in persons)', which received all-party support at the House of Commons report stage on April 4, 2012. The Bill was introduced by Conservative Member of Parliament Joy Smith, and includes two amendments that will help combat human trafficking in Canada and abroad. The first amendment would provide a non-exhaustive list of factors that a court may take into consideration when determining whether the legal test of exploitation has been made out. Such factors include the use of threats of force or other forms of coercion and deception. The second amendment would enable the Canadian prosecution of Canadian citizens or permanent residents who commit any of our trafficking in persons offences abroad.

The investigation of criminal offences in Canada is undertaken at the federal, provincial or municipal level, and police officers and prosecutors have a range of tools available to them to bring traffickers to justice. Investigative techniques such as undercover operations or electronic surveillance are permitted in Canadian law and are invaluable tools in human trafficking investigations. Police can also draw on information collected by departments and agencies such as Canada's Financial Transaction and Reports Analysis Centre which can provide financial intelligence regarding possible money laundering by suspected human traffickers.

Action Highlights

Specific human trafficking offences in IRPA and the Criminal Code provide the basis for investigating and prosecuting this crime. Significant efforts have been pursued to train law enforcement and prosecutors on these new offences and on how to investigate and bring traffickers to justice.

Enforcement of human trafficking legislation will be strengthened through the creation of a dedicated integrated team, led by the RCMP, to undertake proactive human trafficking investigations. This will be the first integrated team in Canada to focus on all types of trafficking, and will be complemented and supported by the Canada Border Services Agency, and a criminal intelligence analyst. Municipal and/or provincial police forces will be invited to participate. This integrated team will work in close partnerships with victim service providers. This approach will enhance cooperative efforts of law enforcement agencies to better identify organizations and individuals involved in human trafficking, and assist victims. The location of the team will be based on current threat and risk assessment information.

The National Action Plan also includes a number of measures to increase awareness and training for enforcement officials and prosecutors. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will develop and coordinate specialized training for police officers through the Canadian Police College and will add human trafficking awareness to its cadet training curriculum. In addition, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will develop a victim-centred guidebook for investigators to assist them in working with victims and will finalise the on-line human trafficking course for all Canadian law enforcement.

In partnership with the provinces and territories, the Government of Canada will enhance the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking. In particular, an operational handbook on investigation and prosecution of human trafficking offences in Canada for police and prosecutors will be developed and distributed. Efforts will also promote and explore opportunities to work with the National Judicial Institute to promote education on human trafficking amongst the judiciary.

In order to improve operational collaboration and coordination, federal agencies such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Passport Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and Human Resources and Skills Development will work to develop and enhance partnerships with law enforcement at the municipal, provincial, national and international levels to improve information and intelligence sharing so that traffickers can be detected, investigated and prosecuted.

Partnerships and Knowledge

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.

Canada was among the first countries in the world to explicitly recognize and promote partnerships as the "fourth P", acknowledging that it is a necessary component of any successful anti-trafficking strategy.

Maintaining and developing strong partnerships both within and outside the federal government is critical; so too is a robust knowledge base informed by topical and relevant research into the nature and scope of human trafficking. The development of a logical and transparent framework to estimate the extent of this crime is critical to fully understanding the problem and to developing an effective and appropriate policy response. That is why the Government will continue to lead and support work on this issue.

Action Highlights

Successfully combating this crime requires partnerships. By strengthening partnerships with civil society and other levels of government, overall efforts to respond to human trafficking in Canada will be greatly improved. The Government of Canada will engage stakeholders through online consultations and roundtables, and will invite human trafficking experts and stakeholders to present and discuss issues of concern with the Human Trafficking Taskforce. Other efforts will include federal, provincial and territorial collaboration to develop and disseminate an operational handbook for police and prosecutors in relation to human trafficking cases as well as continuing to develop partnerships through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Human Trafficking Awareness Coordinators located across the country.

Reliable data are required to identify victims, ascertain the needs of survivors, and maximize the impact of public awareness campaigns. This National Action Plan will use existing partnerships to collect data on the extent and origins of human trafficking to better identify and track trends on human trafficking in Canada. Furthermore, the Government will provide disaggregated data on the Temporary Resident Permits issued to foreign national victims of human trafficking. The Government will also share aggregated data regarding specifics on offenders and victims of human trafficking on request.

Canada has been a leader in international anti-trafficking efforts across the globe and through its participation in international fora. Canadian experts work with international organizations, including the United Nations and the Organization of American States, to contribute to the global fight against trafficking, consistent with our commitments under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. Canada also advocates that countries, that are not parties to this Trafficking Protocol, take steps to sign and/or ratify it as soon as possible, as it is the primary international legal framework for cooperation and action on this issue.

The National Action Plan consolidates Canada's international efforts which include sharing our experience with partner countries and contributing to capacity building initiatives aimed at preventing and combating human trafficking abroad. To this end, the Government of Canada will continue to promote the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program in the Americas to international organizations, non-governmental organizations and countries to support projects in source and transit countries to combat human trafficking with a focus on organized crime networks, institutional capacity in the justice sector, and help for women and children.

Annex A:
Canadian Trafficking Legislation

Criminal Code of Canada (Section 279.01-279.04)

Section 279.01 (Trafficking in persons) states:

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

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

Section 279.011 (Trafficking of a person under the age of eighteen years) states:

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

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

Section 279.02 (Material benefit) states:

Every person who receives a financial or other material benefit, knowing that it results from the commission of an offence under subsection 279.01(1) and 279.011(1), is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than ten years.

Section 279.03 (Withholding or destroying documents) states:

Every person who, for the purpose of committing or facilitating an offence under subsection 279.01(1) and 279.011(1), conceals, removes, withholds or destroys any travel document that belongs to another person or any document that establishes or purports to establish another person's identity or immigration status is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, whether or not the document is of Canadian origin or is authentic.

Section 279.04 (Exploitation) states:

It is also important to recognize that various laws of general application can apply to respond to trafficking including but not necessarily limited to kidnapping (subsection 279(1)), forcible confinement (subsection 279(2)), aggravated sexual assault (section 273), extortion (section 346) and the organized crime (sections 467.11-467.13) and prostitution-related offences (see in particular section 212).

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Section 118)

Section 118 states:

(1) No person shall knowingly organize the coming into Canada of one or more persons by means of abduction, fraud, deception or use or threat of force or coercion.

Definition of "organize"

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), "organize", with respect to persons, includes their recruitment or transportation and, after their entry into Canada, the receipt or harbouring of those persons.

Annex B:
Selective Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts to Date

Prevention

• Partnering with the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association to launch a national awareness campaign that includes the use of Crime Stoppers' national tip-line for the public to anonymously report suspected cases of human trafficking.
•  "I'm Not for Sale" awareness campaign by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The campaign toolkit includes two types of posters, one intended for the public and one that targets potential victims. It includes a training video, police officer handbook, pamphlet, victim assistance guidelines, fact sheets and information on how to report suspected cases of trafficking. [ http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ht-tp/publications/index-eng.htm ]
• Supporting the Government of British Columbia to develop and launch a standardized online training for front-line service providers and first responders who may come into contact with victims.
• Funding and support for two regional, one national and one international prevention and awareness roundtable to improve general understanding of the crime of human trafficking and to inform the development of comprehensive human trafficking prevention strategies.
• In response to the ongoing vulnerability of Aboriginal and immigrant women to human traffickers, Status of Women Canada collaborated with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to deliver training on human trafficking to officials in law enforcement, the justice system, and border and immigration services.
• Funding the People's Law School to develop plain-language awareness materials on human trafficking.
• Funding the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to raise awareness and develop recommendations on the issue of human trafficking and sexual exploitation among First Nations communities.
• Supporting three foundational Public Health Agency of Canada health promotion programs that target vulnerable children and their families to produce positive health outcomes (e.g., Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities; Community Action Program for Children; Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program).
• Funding to Ekklesia Inner-City Ministries (Project 417), a Toronto-based charitable organization to organize a 2-day human trafficking awareness event at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto in the summer of 2011.

Protection and Assistance for Victims

• Development and implementation of policy regarding the provision of temporary immigration status for foreign nationals who may be victims of trafficking and are without legal status in Canada.
  • Such persons may be issued an initial temporary resident permit, free of charge, for a period of up to 180 days which provides a period of reflection to help them escape the influence of their traffickers, begin to recover from their ordeal and consider their options.
  • Long term permits may be issued for up to three years in certain cases.
  • This permit grants access to emergency health services through Canada's Interim Federal Health Program which provides immediate medical care.
  • Victims can apply for work permits.
• Implementing Royal Canadian Mounted Police victim assistance guidelines for its officers, which provides guidelines and procedures to ensure that the basic needs of victims are met and that protection is provided throughout human trafficking investigations including linking them to available resources in their community.
• Supporting community-based projects including the Canadian Council for Refugees in hosting a national roundtable on improving services and protection for victims of trafficking.
• Funding community organizations to develop training programs and to acquire specialized resources in order to improve responses for victims of trafficking.
• "Victims Matter" awareness campaign aimed at victims of crime, their families and those who support them. [ http://www.victimsmatter.gc.ca ]

Detection, Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers

• Establishment (2005) of the RCMP's Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre and six regional human trafficking awareness coordinators to provide national leadership and a focal point for law enforcement in their efforts to address human trafficking.
• Since 2008, the provision of training and awareness workshops and sessions to more than 39,000 law enforcement, border and immigration officers, prosecutors, government agencies, non-government organizations and members of the public across Canada.
• Release of "Human Trafficking in Canada: a Threat Assessment" in 2010 in order to provide strategic guidance for Canadian law enforcement while identifying challenges facing investigators in responding to this crime. [ http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ht-tp/publications/index-eng.htm ]
• Development and implementation of a comprehensive policies and procedures manual for Border Services Officers.
• Development of comprehensive policy and procedures for Royal Canadian Mounted Police members to support human trafficking investigations.
• Awareness raising sessions on human trafficking for forced labour delivered to labour inspectors and officials in 5 jurisdictions.
• Working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to strengthen worldwide capacity to investigate and prosecute human trafficking through three specific projects:
  • Development of an anti-human trafficking manual for criminal justice practitioners.
  • Development of model anti-trafficking law.
  • Development of a needs assessment toolkit on criminal justice responses to human trafficking.
• Working with the Organization of American States to provide training on how to develop anti-trafficking laws to a meeting of law enforcement officers and parliamentarians, including Ministers, in the English-speaking Caribbean and Haiti.
• Strengthened the capacity of police officers and border officials to detect, investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases by conducting human trafficking training in 12 West African countries, Mexico and Cambodia.
• Contributing to the Financial Action Task Force typology report about Money Laundering Vulnerabilities Arising from the Trafficking of Human Beings.
• Funding for the National Police Support Centre for Missing Persons and the National tip website for Missing Persons to ensure that law enforcement and the justice system meet the needs of Aboriginal women.

Partnerships and Knowledge: Domestic and International

Domestic:

• Partnership between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Ottawa Police Service in the organization of a national conference on human trafficking in order to advance local responses for prevention, better assist victims, improve prosecution efforts, and to strengthen relationships between law enforcement and community groups.
• Released a feasibility study on developing a national data collection framework on trafficking in Canada.
• Supporting research to assess whether any increase in human trafficking occurred as a result of the 2010 Winter Games, which will in turn assist in the development of prevention strategies in relation to similar events hosted by Canada in the future.

International:

• Established in December 2009, the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program enhances the capacity of key beneficiary States, government entities and international organizations through the provision of transfer payment assistance to projects designed to prevent and respond to threats posed by international criminal activity, including human trafficking.
  • Since 2009, the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program has provided funding to combat human trafficking in the Americas to strengthen prevention, protection and prosecution efforts.
  • Canada's Counter-terrorism Capacity Building Programme also contributed funds in 2008 to document fraud prevention work that indirectly contributed to combating human trafficking in 33 OAS Member States.
  • Since 2009 the Anti-Crime Capacity Building/Counter-terrorism Capacity Building programs have also contributed some funds to capacity building programs with indirect links to helping prevent trafficking in persons - namely through focusing on migrant smuggling and fraud prevention in South East Asia and the Americas.
• Through the Global Peace and Security Fund, Canada has continued to develop and propose projects to promote international norms and in-country capacities to prevent and respond to human trafficking of women and girls for sexual purposes such as forced prostitution and enslavement in situations of armed conflict and state fragility, and/or human trafficking insofar as it is linked to state fragility and/or armed conflict or post-conflict more generally.
  • Since 2006, the Global Peace and Security Fund has provided funds to combat human trafficking in the Americas.
• Canada also works directly with partner countries and organisations in regions of the world that are most affected by human trafficking. For example, Canada has been an active partner in advancing the rights of vulnerable populations and targeting human traffickers and others who benefit financially from undocumented and unprotected migrants on the island of Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. These partners, such as the United Nations, the International Organizations for Migration, and like-minded countries are working with local authorities with respect to related issues such as child sex tourism, the protection of women and children and the regularization of migrants to safeguard their rights.
• At the UN, with other international and regional organizations and bilaterally with key states, Canada promoted policies and norms to prevent and respond to human trafficking of women and girls for sexual purposes such as forced prostitution and enslavement in situations of armed conflict and state fragility.
• Supporting the International Labour Organization (ILO) in a technical assistance project entitled Eliminating Forced Labour and Trafficking in Jordan, which aimed at strengthening government enforcement capacity to identify, investigate and prosecute offences for forced labour and contributed to the development of a National Strategy against Trafficking in Persons.
• Engaging in international fora such as: the Conference of Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Regional Conference on Migration where Canada has supported and promoted the importance of civil society engagement in responding to human trafficking.
• Participating in the INTERPOL Task Force on Human Trafficking.
  • The INTERPOL Task Force on Human Trafficking is the only international mechanism that promotes communication on various issues within the international law enforcement community.
  • Regular meetings between participating countries afford an opportunity to share and gather intelligence on new human trafficking trends globally and share best practices.

Annex C:
Action Items Chart

Appendix 1:
Abbreviations

AANDC

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada

APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

CBSA

Canada Border Services Agency

CIC

Citizenship and Immigration Canada

CIDA

Canadian International Development Agency

CISC

Criminal Intelligence Service Canada

DFAIT

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

PPTC

Passport Canada

DND

Department of National Defence

FINTRAC

Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada

HRSDC (Labour Program)

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada - Labour Program

HRSDC (TFWP)

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada - Temporary Foreign Worker Program

ILO

International Labour Organization

IOM

International Organization for Migration

JUS

Department of Justice

OAS

Organization of American States

OSCE

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

PHAC

Public Health Agency of Canada

PPSC

Public Prosecution Service of Canada

PS

Public Safety Canada

RCMP

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

RCM

Regional Conference on Migration

StatCan

Statistics Canada

SWC

Status of Women Canada

End Notes

1 A number of studies to estimate the number of persons trafficked in a year have been undertaken, both by international organizations and national governments [ http://www.ungift.org/docs/ungift/pdf/knowledge/ebook.pdf ]. Estimates of the number of victims vary depending on the methodology employed in the studies. For instance, the International Labour Organization estimates that between 1995 and 2004, on average, each year, worldwide, at minimum, 2.45 million people are discovered to be living in a situation of having been trafficked. [ http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/-declaration/documents/publication/wcms_081882.pdf ]

2 [ http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_081882.pdf ]

3 The Executive Summary, including its key findings can be accessed at: [ http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ht-tp/publications/2013/proj-safekeeping-eng.htm ]

4 Note on data: The numbers are subject to change, as final data for 2011 are still being gathered. It is important to note that these data do not include the number of trafficking victims who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Furthermore, data limitations do not permit a breakdown of the number of victims of trafficking who may have chosen to pursue other immigration options, such as applying for refugee protection or permanent residence for humanitarian and compassionate reasons. Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Victims of Trafficking in Persons Case Monitoring as of April 12, 2012.

5 Private Member's Bill C-310, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (trafficking in persons), introduced on October 3, 2011, seeks to enhance the Criminal Code trafficking provisions by clarifying the meaning of exploitation for the purpose of human trafficking and by adding an extra-territorial clause that enables the Canadian prosecution of human trafficking related offences outside of Canada.

Date modified:

2022-07-28