In this issue: Highlights of CCR Trafficking Forum, Supreme Court decision on federal prostitution laws, New Online Training on Human Trafficking for Service Providers, and more...
Issue No. 12 - February 2014
E-BULLETIN CONTENTS
|
Important policy developments on trafficking
Supreme Court Decision on Federal Prostitution Laws
On 20 December 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the Criminal Code’s main provisions on prostitution, in particular the offences prohibiting the operation or use of a bawdy house, as well as living on the avails of prostitution and communicating in public. Through a unanimous decision, the court considered these three main articles to be unconstitutional because they contravene section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of the person.
The Court suspended its decision for a year, in order to allow Parliament to revise the Criminal Code and propose new legislation as it deems necessary. Existing provisions will therefore be maintained for a year while this revision takes place.
The Supreme Court ruling is available here: http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/13389/index.do.
The Government of Canada is currently seeking input on this issue through an online consultation, open from February 17 to March 17, accessible here: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cons/curr-cours/proscons-conspros/index.html.
Different responses to this ruling:
Asian Women Coalition Ending Prostitution: http://bit.ly/1kwCsys.
Committee of Action against Trafficking of Humans Internally and Internationally (CATHII) (French only): http://bit.ly/1gnriXA.
British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA): http://bit.ly/1iHV5wf.
Alberta prosecutors told to pursue johns, not prostitutes, Calgary Herald, 4 February 2013: http://bit.ly/1fZqdVx.
Ontario joins N.B. in move away from prostitution prosecutions, CBC News, 6 February 2013: http://bit.ly/LQDy9h.
N.B. stands by decision to drop prostitution cases despite criticism, CBC News, 30 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1cqeOvt.
Canada's prostitution laws: Who said what about the ruling, CBC News, 20 December 2013: http://bit.ly/1h5de9Y.
On 20 December 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the Criminal Code’s main provisions on prostitution, in particular the offences prohibiting the operation or use of a bawdy house, as well as living on the avails of prostitution and communicating in public. Through a unanimous decision, the court considered these three main articles to be unconstitutional because they contravene section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of the person.
The Court suspended its decision for a year, in order to allow Parliament to revise the Criminal Code and propose new legislation as it deems necessary. Existing provisions will therefore be maintained for a year while this revision takes place.
The Supreme Court ruling is available here: http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/13389/index.do.
The Government of Canada is currently seeking input on this issue through an online consultation, open from February 17 to March 17, accessible here: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cons/curr-cours/proscons-conspros/index.html.
Different responses to this ruling:
Asian Women Coalition Ending Prostitution: http://bit.ly/1kwCsys.
Committee of Action against Trafficking of Humans Internally and Internationally (CATHII) (French only): http://bit.ly/1gnriXA.
British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA): http://bit.ly/1iHV5wf.
Alberta prosecutors told to pursue johns, not prostitutes, Calgary Herald, 4 February 2013: http://bit.ly/1fZqdVx.
Ontario joins N.B. in move away from prostitution prosecutions, CBC News, 6 February 2013: http://bit.ly/LQDy9h.
N.B. stands by decision to drop prostitution cases despite criticism, CBC News, 30 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1cqeOvt.
Canada's prostitution laws: Who said what about the ruling, CBC News, 20 December 2013: http://bit.ly/1h5de9Y.
Announcements
MCIS Language Services New Online Training on Human Trafficking for Service Providers
The second of a series of roundtables concerning trafficking in persons in the City of Toronto will be held the 20 February 2014, 9am - 5pm.
The objectives of this roundtable are to:
Defend Dignity and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s Human Trafficking Forum: Grande Prairie, Alberta and Toronto, ON
Defend Dignity and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada will be hosting Forums on trafficking in persons throughout February and March, in Grand Prairie Alberta and Toronto, Ontario.
These events will focus on trafficking nationally and locally. They will be including the perspectives of survivors of trafficking themselves and will be providing an overview of existing and possible legal frameworks. These events will also be an opportunity for networking between representatives of local front-line organizations.
Grande Prairie: Saturday, 22 February, 2014.
Toronto: Saturday, March 29, 2014.
For more information on these and other events, please visit: www.defenddignity.ca.
WalkFree YEG, Edmonton, AB, 12 April 2014
On 12 April, an indoor sponsored walk entitled WalkFree will take place in Edmonton in order to support fund raising for front-line anti-trafficking organizations, including ACT Alberta, Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation, International Justice Mission Canada, and Ratanak International.
Participants can register and choose an organization to walk for online, at: http://www.walkfree.ca.
2014 Human Trafficking Conference: Awareness, Enforcement and Prosecution, Banff, AB, 15 - 17 April 2014
This three-day long conference is co-organized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Alberta Specialized Law Enforcement Training (ASLET), and Action Coalition on Human Trafficking (ACT) Alberta.
This training is primarily targeted to law enforcement and judiciary sectors. It will also host a limited amount of NGO and service provider representatives.
For more information, please send an email to: Leticia.aplin@alert-ab.ca.
MCIS Language Services has launched an online training for service providers on human trafficking developed with support from Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General, Ontario Victim Services. The training is available online, at: http://helpingtraffickedpersons.org.
This training was developed with input from individuals and organizations, service providers and other professionals who work with or may come across trafficked persons in the course of their professional activities.
The training is free and is available in both English and French. It includes:
Reflecting on Issues Faced by Migrant Workers
A day of reflection was held on 18 December in Montreal as part of the Global Day of Action against Racism and International Migrants Day.
This event looked at a range of issues and challenges facing migrant workers, globally and in Canada. It was organized by the Front de défense des non-syndiqués (FDNS), the Centre international de solidarité ouvrière (CISO), the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ), the Central Council of the Confederation of National Trade Unions of Metropolitan Montreal, the Centre Justice et foi, the Immigrant Workers Centre (CTTI) and the Committee of Action against the Trafficking of Humans, Internally and Internationally (CATHII).
Presentations are available in English and in French, at http://bit.ly/1f9IhKP.
Videos are available primarily in French, summarizing the discussions held during the day of reflection on the following subjects:
This training was developed with input from individuals and organizations, service providers and other professionals who work with or may come across trafficked persons in the course of their professional activities.
The training is free and is available in both English and French. It includes:
- 9 interactive online training modules followed by short quizzes
- Helping Trafficked Persons – A Handbook for Service Providers
- A Toolkit for Service Providers
- Links to additional resources and information
- An online forum where training participants can discuss issues related to the training and network with other participants
Reflecting on Issues Faced by Migrant Workers
A day of reflection was held on 18 December in Montreal as part of the Global Day of Action against Racism and International Migrants Day.This event looked at a range of issues and challenges facing migrant workers, globally and in Canada. It was organized by the Front de défense des non-syndiqués (FDNS), the Centre international de solidarité ouvrière (CISO), the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ), the Central Council of the Confederation of National Trade Unions of Metropolitan Montreal, the Centre Justice et foi, the Immigrant Workers Centre (CTTI) and the Committee of Action against the Trafficking of Humans, Internally and Internationally (CATHII).
Presentations are available in English and in French, at http://bit.ly/1f9IhKP.
Videos are available primarily in French, summarizing the discussions held during the day of reflection on the following subjects:
- Limitations of the legislative framework in view of changes in the immigration regime: http://youtu.be/VLto8GeHd48
- Exploitative conditions: the recruitment system: http://youtu.be/LLjjSxtT5J0
- The challenges of union representation: http://youtu.be/JR_ixFqClT0
- Labour migration and human rights: http://youtu.be/Lx11WRsFAVs
Reports and media
Highlights of CCR Fall 2013 National Forum on Trafficking
The Highlights of the CCR National Forum on Trafficking, held on 27 November, 2013 in Kitchener-Waterloo, are now available online at: http://ccrweb.ca/sites/ccrweb.ca/files/trafficking-forum-highlights-2013.pdf. They are also available from the CCR Trafficking Campaign page, trafficking.ca.
These highlights include a summary of the priorities that were raised at the Forum in the areas of policy development, service provision and awareness-raising on trafficking. They are meant to offer guidance to different organizations’ and sectors’ common work against trafficking in persons. We hope they will be a useful tool to engage fellow NGOs, service providers, law enforcement and immigration agencies, as well as provincial and federal governments, among other groups, in moving forward.
The CCR invites those involved in anti-trafficking work to consider the issues raised at the Forum and to reflect on how these can be followed up on in your organizations, sector, and/or communities.
To send further suggestions for action or any useful information or resources that may be of interest to the pan-Canadian anti-trafficking network, please send your comments to trafficking@ccrweb.ca.
This 2-pager is available in English and in French.
Please note that a longer report of the CCR Trafficking Forum will also be made available soon.
Report: Service and Capacity Review for Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking in Nunavut
In November 2013, a report on Service and Capacity Review for Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking in Nunavut was released. The report, prepared by Helen Roos and funded by the Department of Justice, focuses on trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation in Inuit communities in Nunavut and Ottawa.
The report is an initial survey gathering information from 25 Inuit frontline service workers, justice and organizational partners, as well as 32 youth and adult survivors of sexual exploitation and one survivor of trafficking. It offers recommendations developed from input provided by project participants about steps to take in strengthening awareness on trafficking and sexual exploitation in communities across Canada, and in supporting inter-organizational coordination.
The report is specific about the importance of this research as being reflective of patterns and scenarios occurring across Canada that are not only specific to Inuit communities.
The report is available online at: https://flipflashpages.uniflip.com/2/80041/322230/pub/
Media releases on the report:
Human trafficking of Inuit women and girls has become an open secret in Canada's North, CBC Radio, 4 February 2014: http://bit.ly/MFJliG
Nunavut Inuit exposed to human trafficking, child exploitation: report, Nunatsiaq Online, 4 February 2014: http://bit.ly/1eiXIQ2.
Public Safety Canada Reports on Trafficking
In December 2013, Public Safety Canada published two reports on the federal government’s actions on trafficking in persons during 2012 - 2013:
National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking - 2012-2013 Annual Report on Progress: http://bit.ly/1gT6S9O.
2012 - 2013 Human Trafficking Stakeholder Consultations - National Summary Report: http://bit.ly/1fre4cN.
Media Reports
National
Ottawa’s new foreign-worker rules drop ban on employers with criminal convictions, The Globe and Mail, 2 January 2014: http://bit.ly/Nvg7nM.
Canadian churches called on in effort to spot and help human trafficking victims, Calgary Sun, 20 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1eS0MpX
Human trafficking of Inuit women and girls has become an open secret in Canada's North, CBC Radio, 4 February 2014: http://bit.ly/MFJliG.
British Columbia
Human trafficking now 'regular' occurrence in Island sex trade, Nanaimo Daily News, 27 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1lWUJXB.
Nova Scotia
Human trafficking target of Operation Northern Spotlight, CBC News, 29 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1bjGasy.
Ontario
Niagara man convicted of human trafficking, Niagara Falls Review, 7 February 2014: http://bit.ly/1ghgDPC.
Sudbury police aim to help victims of human trafficking, CBC News, 3 February 2014: http://bit.ly/1nqb5Dq.
Ontario woman arrested in trafficking of teen sex worker, CBC Hamilton, 24 January 2014: http://bit.ly/19SwMeC
Two Toronto men accused of human trafficking involving teen in Kitchener, The Record, 23 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1f9X740.
Ottawa teen 'pimp' sentenced to maximum penalty for Human Trafficking Law, CTV News, 20 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1jqt92Z.
Reports on Operation Northern Spotlight
This operation was a two-day, Canada-wide blitz focusing on human trafficking carried out on January 22 and 23. The initiative involved 26 police services and was focused on hotels and motels on major roads in 32 cities and towns across Canada. The following stories from 28 January, 2014 report on the operation across Ontario:
Ottawa: Sun News, http://bit.ly/1nkgzm3
Windsor: Our Windsor, http://bit.ly/1hNgByI
Kitchener: CBC News, http://bit.ly/1bylE1z
London: The London Free Press, http://bit.ly/1iLENoN
The Highlights of the CCR National Forum on Trafficking, held on 27 November, 2013 in Kitchener-Waterloo, are now available online at: http://ccrweb.ca/sites/ccrweb.ca/files/trafficking-forum-highlights-2013.pdf. They are also available from the CCR Trafficking Campaign page, trafficking.ca.These highlights include a summary of the priorities that were raised at the Forum in the areas of policy development, service provision and awareness-raising on trafficking. They are meant to offer guidance to different organizations’ and sectors’ common work against trafficking in persons. We hope they will be a useful tool to engage fellow NGOs, service providers, law enforcement and immigration agencies, as well as provincial and federal governments, among other groups, in moving forward.
The CCR invites those involved in anti-trafficking work to consider the issues raised at the Forum and to reflect on how these can be followed up on in your organizations, sector, and/or communities.
To send further suggestions for action or any useful information or resources that may be of interest to the pan-Canadian anti-trafficking network, please send your comments to trafficking@ccrweb.ca.
This 2-pager is available in English and in French.
Please note that a longer report of the CCR Trafficking Forum will also be made available soon.
Report: Service and Capacity Review for Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking in Nunavut
In November 2013, a report on Service and Capacity Review for Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking in Nunavut was released. The report, prepared by Helen Roos and funded by the Department of Justice, focuses on trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation in Inuit communities in Nunavut and Ottawa.The report is an initial survey gathering information from 25 Inuit frontline service workers, justice and organizational partners, as well as 32 youth and adult survivors of sexual exploitation and one survivor of trafficking. It offers recommendations developed from input provided by project participants about steps to take in strengthening awareness on trafficking and sexual exploitation in communities across Canada, and in supporting inter-organizational coordination.
The report is specific about the importance of this research as being reflective of patterns and scenarios occurring across Canada that are not only specific to Inuit communities.
The report is available online at: https://flipflashpages.uniflip.com/2/80041/322230/pub/
Media releases on the report:
Human trafficking of Inuit women and girls has become an open secret in Canada's North, CBC Radio, 4 February 2014: http://bit.ly/MFJliG
Nunavut Inuit exposed to human trafficking, child exploitation: report, Nunatsiaq Online, 4 February 2014: http://bit.ly/1eiXIQ2.
Public Safety Canada Reports on Trafficking
In December 2013, Public Safety Canada published two reports on the federal government’s actions on trafficking in persons during 2012 - 2013:
National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking - 2012-2013 Annual Report on Progress: http://bit.ly/1gT6S9O.
2012 - 2013 Human Trafficking Stakeholder Consultations - National Summary Report: http://bit.ly/1fre4cN.
Media Reports
National
Ottawa’s new foreign-worker rules drop ban on employers with criminal convictions, The Globe and Mail, 2 January 2014: http://bit.ly/Nvg7nM.
Canadian churches called on in effort to spot and help human trafficking victims, Calgary Sun, 20 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1eS0MpX
Human trafficking of Inuit women and girls has become an open secret in Canada's North, CBC Radio, 4 February 2014: http://bit.ly/MFJliG.
British Columbia
Human trafficking now 'regular' occurrence in Island sex trade, Nanaimo Daily News, 27 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1lWUJXB.
Nova Scotia
Human trafficking target of Operation Northern Spotlight, CBC News, 29 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1bjGasy.
Ontario
Niagara man convicted of human trafficking, Niagara Falls Review, 7 February 2014: http://bit.ly/1ghgDPC.
Sudbury police aim to help victims of human trafficking, CBC News, 3 February 2014: http://bit.ly/1nqb5Dq.
Ontario woman arrested in trafficking of teen sex worker, CBC Hamilton, 24 January 2014: http://bit.ly/19SwMeC
Two Toronto men accused of human trafficking involving teen in Kitchener, The Record, 23 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1f9X740.
Ottawa teen 'pimp' sentenced to maximum penalty for Human Trafficking Law, CTV News, 20 January 2014: http://bit.ly/1jqt92Z.
Reports on Operation Northern Spotlight
This operation was a two-day, Canada-wide blitz focusing on human trafficking carried out on January 22 and 23. The initiative involved 26 police services and was focused on hotels and motels on major roads in 32 cities and towns across Canada. The following stories from 28 January, 2014 report on the operation across Ontario:
Ottawa: Sun News, http://bit.ly/1nkgzm3
Windsor: Our Windsor, http://bit.ly/1hNgByI
Kitchener: CBC News, http://bit.ly/1bylE1z
London: The London Free Press, http://bit.ly/1iLENoN
Trafficking-related events
Second Roundtable on Building Collaboration to Combat Human Trafficking in the City of Toronto, 20 February 2014, Toronto, ONThe second of a series of roundtables concerning trafficking in persons in the City of Toronto will be held the 20 February 2014, 9am - 5pm.The objectives of this roundtable are to:
- Establish and foster relations between multi‐sector stakeholders,
- Continue to develop anti-human trafficking response model corresponding to the particularities of Toronto area
Defend Dignity and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s Human Trafficking Forum: Grande Prairie, Alberta and Toronto, ON
Defend Dignity and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada will be hosting Forums on trafficking in persons throughout February and March, in Grand Prairie Alberta and Toronto, Ontario.
These events will focus on trafficking nationally and locally. They will be including the perspectives of survivors of trafficking themselves and will be providing an overview of existing and possible legal frameworks. These events will also be an opportunity for networking between representatives of local front-line organizations.
Grande Prairie: Saturday, 22 February, 2014.
Toronto: Saturday, March 29, 2014.
For more information on these and other events, please visit: www.defenddignity.ca.
WalkFree YEG, Edmonton, AB, 12 April 2014
On 12 April, an indoor sponsored walk entitled WalkFree will take place in Edmonton in order to support fund raising for front-line anti-trafficking organizations, including ACT Alberta, Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation, International Justice Mission Canada, and Ratanak International.
Participants can register and choose an organization to walk for online, at: http://www.walkfree.ca.
2014 Human Trafficking Conference: Awareness, Enforcement and Prosecution, Banff, AB, 15 - 17 April 2014
This three-day long conference is co-organized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Alberta Specialized Law Enforcement Training (ASLET), and Action Coalition on Human Trafficking (ACT) Alberta.
This training is primarily targeted to law enforcement and judiciary sectors. It will also host a limited amount of NGO and service provider representatives.
For more information, please send an email to: Leticia.aplin@alert-ab.ca.
International developments
Global Eye on Human Trafficking, International Organization for Migration
The latest Global Eye on Human Trafficking issue published by the IOM explores the issue of prevention of human trafficking globally, asking how we can best prevent trafficking before it occurs. It specifically seeks to explore what different information and awareness-campaigns have achieved in practice since the Palermo Protocol was introduced in 2000.
This newsletter profiles sections on private initiatives to protect migrant workers through the recruitment process; on NGO initiatives supporting access to information for migrant workers on their human and labour rights, as well as access to a hotline to which they can report abuses; and on innovative ways in which technology is being used as a means of preventing trafficking.
The IOM’s newsletter is available at: http://bit.ly/1eiuQau.
The latest Global Eye on Human Trafficking issue published by the IOM explores the issue of prevention of human trafficking globally, asking how we can best prevent trafficking before it occurs. It specifically seeks to explore what different information and awareness-campaigns have achieved in practice since the Palermo Protocol was introduced in 2000.
This newsletter profiles sections on private initiatives to protect migrant workers through the recruitment process; on NGO initiatives supporting access to information for migrant workers on their human and labour rights, as well as access to a hotline to which they can report abuses; and on innovative ways in which technology is being used as a means of preventing trafficking.
The IOM’s newsletter is available at: http://bit.ly/1eiuQau.