Skip to main content

Trafficking Bulletin Issue No. 5 - November 2012

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Canadian Council for Refugees' (CCR) electronic bulletin on trafficking. This e-bulletin contains updates on trafficking issues, including different organizations’ responses to trafficking and other information and resources for non-governmental organizations and others working on these issues. This is part of a wider effort to share information, ideas and strategies across Canada.

The CCR e-bulletin on trafficking will be published every two months. If you would like to contribute to future issues, please forward your suggestions with related links and/or attachments to traffickingbulletin@ccrweb.ca. We also invite you to send us any feedback you might deem relevant on the content for us to consider for future issues. For previous issues, please visit: http://ccrweb.ca/en/traffickingbulletin.

We hope you will find this e-bulletin useful and interesting.

 

Upcoming CCR events

National Forum on Trafficking and CCR Fall Consultation, November 28 - December 1, 2012

Quick links

CCR Trafficking Page: http://trafficking.ca

CCR Electronic Bulletins on Trafficking: http://ccrweb.ca/en/traffickingbulletin

CCR Database of Human Trafficking Resources: http://ccrweb.ca/en/trafficking-resources

E-BULLETIN CONTENTS

Important Policy Developments on Trafficking

Bill C-452, An act to amend the Criminal Code (exploitation and trafficking in persons)

On October 16, 2012 MP and Bloc Québécois Justice and Public Safety critic Maria Mourani introduced Bill C-452 to the House of Commons. The bill would modify the Criminal Code “in order to provide consecutive sentences for offences related to procuring and trafficking in persons. The enactment creates a presumption regarding the exploitation of one person by another and adds circumstances that are deemed to constitute exploitation. Finally, it adds the offences of procuring and trafficking in persons to the list of offences to which the forfeiture of proceeds of crime apply.”

To consult the Bill in its entirety, please see: http://parl.gc.ca/content/hoc/Bills/411/Private/C-452/C-452_1/C-452_1.PDF.

 

National Action Plan – Human Trafficking Stakeholder Consultation, Public Safety Canada

In connection with the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking launched in June 2012, Public Safety Canada has launched its first online stakeholder consultation on human trafficking. This consultation is the first phase of Public Safety’s commitment to engage stakeholders throughout Canada to discuss emerging issues leading to regional roundtables in the Fall.

Organisations that work in the field of human trafficking were consulted in the hopes of determining questions and gaps specific to their area of expertise or their region. The CCR and several of its members completed the online survey. Regional meetings are planned for the months of November and December throughout Canada.

 

International Developments

Commitments by the United States in the Struggle against Forced Labour

On September 25, 2012, US President Barack Obama announced a series of new measures designed to intensify the fight against human trafficking. He reinforced by presidential decree the strict policy already in place that seeks to prevent the use of forced labour by service providers hired by the US government. Amongst other measures is the requirement that all contractors and sub-contractors doing business with the US government respect certain uniform compliance measures. These consist of a hiring and remuneration plan that only allows the use of certain recruitment agencies whose staff are appropriately trained, that do not charge employees for the cost of recruitment and who provide a salary that is in compliance with the host country (or who can justify a derogation of this rule).

To find out more about the presidential decree and new measures being taken, please see: http://1.usa.gov/OnSKM5.

This announcement was welcomed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The ILO’s news release is available at: http://bit.ly/S6iJIJ.

 

Second General Report on the Activities of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA)

The Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) is the anti-trafficking monitoring body of the Council of Europe.  In its second General Report, published on October 4, 2012, GRETA highlights a number of issues that have emerged as a result of their 10 first country reports completed since September 2011.

In the period covered by this second general report (August 2011 to July 2012), GRETA published reports evaluating the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by the first 10 countries that ratified it. GRETA also carried out visits to the next 10 countries to be considered in order to collect information necessary for future evaluation reports.

The general report also includes information regarding GRETA’s cooperation with other international organisations and civil society. The report emphasizes that these partnerships are essential to the success of international action against human trafficking.

GRETA hopes that the Convention’s jurisdiction will continue to grow as it is ratified by more members of the Council as well as non-members and the European Union.

The report is available on the Council of Europe’s website: http://bit.ly/KMjv6P.

 

UNODC Issue Paper: Abuse of a Position of Vulnerability and other "Means" Within the Definition of Trafficking in Persons

This issue paper seeks to clarify the concept of abuse of a position of vulnerability as a “means” of trafficking in persons present in the definition of trafficking provided by Article 3 of the Palermo Protocol. It is the result of a number of interviews carried out with practitioners from 12 countries, including Canada, and was completed with input received during an expert group meeting.

Two documents were produced as a result of these consultations: an issue paper and a corresponding Guidance Note. Among other countries examined, this issue paper offers an analysis of Canada’s legal system and of the application of the concept of abuse of a position of vulnerability and related “means” in the Criminal Code’s definition of trafficking. It equally offers insight into expert’s perceptions of the legal strengths and weaknesses of this concept.

To view the full issue paper, please see: http://bit.ly/V8ASay.

The Guidance Note is available at: http://bit.ly/QKaPot.

 

Reports and media

Woman from Hamilton Arrested on Human Trafficking Charges

A woman from Hamilton, Ontario has been arrested and charged by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) with human trafficking offences. Restaurant owner Csilla Yit is accused of having promised Hungarian immigrants work and decent pay in Canada and of subsequently denying them their salaries and failing to provide adequate food or decent housing.

Hamilton Woman Charged With Human Trafficking, Metro News, November 2, 2012: http://bit.ly/THaihx.

 

Human Trafficking: More Victims in Québec

The RCMP, the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) and community groups participated in an awareness-raising activity seeking to call on Quebec to adopt an interprovincial anti-trafficking strategy.

Traite de personnes: de plus en plus de victimes au Québec, La Presse, October 24, 2012 (French): http://bit.ly/TAgyxR.

 

Two Hungarians Deported from Canada

The wife and stepdaughter of Tibor Baranvai, a trafficking survivor who arrived in Canada in 2009, were sent back to their native Hungary on Friday, October 19. Mr. Baranyai is one of 23 victims who were sold as slaves in Hungary, and purchased by a criminal network operating in Canada.

Canada to deport family of trafficking-ring victim, The Globe and Mail, October 18, 2012: http://bit.ly/RIJUVo.

 

Kihew Energy Services Fined $215 000 for Exploiting a Dozen Polish Workers

St Paul’s Ukrainian Orthodox priest John Lipinski and his company Kihew Energy Services have received a fine of $215 000 for having exploited dozens of Polish machine operators and welders. The group pleaded guilty to one count of human trafficking. According to the Court, Kihew Energy Services made a profit of more than one million dollars from the exploitation of some sixty Polish recruits since December 2005.

Alberta Priest’s Company Admits to Foreign Worker Scheme, CBC News, October 9, 2012: http://bit.ly/QeJvdn

 

Labour rights violations cause Canada to ban domestic servants in two embassies

The Department of Foreign Affairs recently banned two countries from bringing domestic servants to Canada to work in diplomatic households due to workplace abuses and labour violations.

The temporary bans came this spring after the department’s Office of Protocol found evidence that private servants working in the homes of some diplomatic staff “have been the targets of workplace abuses and extensive labour rights violations,” including unpaid wages, unilateral changes to contracts, excessive working hours and possible debt bondage.

Two Embassies temporarily banned from bringing servants to Canada, Global News, November 1, 2012: http://bit.ly/RwQHAW.

 

Announcements

Joy Smith Foundation Launched in October 2012

On October 27, 2012, MP Joy Smith launched a foundation specifically committed to address trafficking in persons in Canada. The foundation will work to raise awareness about trafficking issues across the country and will provide funding to front-line organizations working to support and rehabilitate trafficking victims and survivors.

Further information is available at: www.joysmithfoundation.com.

 

Two New Trafficking Bulletins Launched

Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre Bulletin

The Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre (HTNCC) has begun to publish a bulletin on trafficking initiatives on a quarterly basis (in January, April, July and October) in French and English. The bulletin presents information about current activities in law enforcement, statistics relating to trafficking cases, files of special interest, law enforcement trainings and regional updates. If you wish to contribute to the bulletin, please send the relevant information to Nicolas St-François at Nicolas.st.francois@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

Public Safety Canada Newsletter on Trafficking

Public Safety Canada has published the first edition of its newsletter on human trafficking, developed in collaboration with Canadian stakeholders.

The newsletter, which includes news on human trafficking issues and initiatives throughout Canada, will be available up to three times per year on the Public Safety Canada website on human trafficking (http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/le/ht-tp-eng.aspx) as well as via an email distribution list.

If you would like to be added to this list or if you have articles to submit for an upcoming bulletin, please send an email to HTT.GTTP@PS-SP.gc.ca.

Public Safety, Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter - Issue 1, October 2012: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/le/ht-nwslttr-201210-eng.aspx.

 

Call for Papers: Anti-Trafficking Review, “Human Rights at the Border”

The Anti-Trafficking Review has launched a call for contributions for a special issue on “Human Rights at the Border.”

Papers may address the following topics: criminalisation of irregular migration, operational understandings of human rights, (non)identification of violations, human rights implications of screening for potential trafficking cases, transparency and accountability, discriminatory immigration policies, privatisation of immigration functions, trafficking and migration prevention policies, links between increased border security and trafficking, interceptions and push-backs, broker/agents' rights, and extraterritoriality. The Review welcomes articles that engage empirically grounded analysis of rights-based border-related programs.

The Review promotes a human rights based approach to anti-trafficking, and it aims to explore the issue in its broader context including gender analyses and intersections with labour and migrant rights. The journal offers a space for dialogue for those seeking to communicate new ideas and findings. Academics, practitioners and advocates, working for, with and including trafficked persons and migrants are invited to submit articles.

The deadline for submissions is December 31, 2012. The word limit for articles is of 4,000 words including footnotes and abstract.

For further information and to consult the Review’s Style Guide, please visit: www.antitraffickingreview.org.

 

Trafficking-related events

Participate in the CCR's National Forum on Trafficking and Workshop, 28 - 29 November 2012, Toronto

The CCR is organizing a National Forum on Trafficking to take place on November 28th, 2012, 9:30am-5pm, the day before the CCR Fall Consultation 2012 in Toronto. This forum is an opportunity for non-governmental organizations working on trafficking issues in Canada to exchange information and strategies to provide services for trafficked persons, to raise awareness of trafficking issues in Canada, and to identify policy development priorities to protect trafficked persons.

As part of the Consultation, there will also be a dialogue session with government and law enforcement officials on Thursday, November 29th, 11am-12:30pm. If you work with trafficked persons or you are interested in trafficking issues, we hope that you will join us for these sessions. Further information is available online, Trafficking Forum: http://ccrweb.ca/en/trafficking-forum-2012, Workshop: http://ccrweb.ca/en/workshops_fall2012.

For questions, please send an email to trafficking@ccrweb.ca, or call Samanta García at 514-277-7223, Ext. 6.

++++

If you would like to unsubscribe from these messages, please send an email to traffickingbulletin@ccrweb.ca.