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

About the program

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

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

What we examined

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

Evaluation findings

Recommendations

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

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