In this issue: New CCR resource on Labour Trafficking in Canada, Local Safety Audit Reports on trafficking in persons in Ontario, Government of Canada anti-trafficking resources and more…
 Upcoming CCR eventsSummer Working Group meetings, 5 - 6 September, MontrealCCR Fall Consultation, 27-29 November, Gatineau
Browse through the CCR Starter Toolkit for Awareness Raising on Trafficking. |
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Issue No. 15 - September 2014
E-BULLETIN CONTENTS
Important policy developments on trafficking
Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (Bill C-36) studied by Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights
On 15 July, the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights reviewed and amended Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. The bill will now be reported back to the House of Commons for Third Reading.
Seven amendments were made during the Committee’s review. Among these, the more significant amendments address:
The minutes of the committee proceedings are available here: http://bit.ly/1sYPDcK.
Media reports:
Tories amend bill to allow sex workers more places to solicit clients, The Globe and Mail, 15 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1sVRtNi
Bill amended to outlaw prostitution near schools, playgrounds, CTV News, 15 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1nPIozg.
Prostitution bill 'offends' the Charter, legal experts say, CTV News, 7 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1sVSCVa.
On 15 July, the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights reviewed and amended Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. The bill will now be reported back to the House of Commons for Third Reading.
Seven amendments were made during the Committee’s review. Among these, the more significant amendments address:
- The provision imposing penalties for communicating in public places for the purpose of selling sexual services, where a person under the age of 18 could be expected to be present. The bill as amended now applies only to a public place that is or is next to a school ground, playground or daycare centre.
- A legislated review. The provisions and operation of the bill must be reviewed within 5 years after it comes into force, and the findings reported one year following the review.
The minutes of the committee proceedings are available here: http://bit.ly/1sYPDcK.
Media reports:
Tories amend bill to allow sex workers more places to solicit clients, The Globe and Mail, 15 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1sVRtNi
Bill amended to outlaw prostitution near schools, playgrounds, CTV News, 15 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1nPIozg.
Prostitution bill 'offends' the Charter, legal experts say, CTV News, 7 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1sVSCVa.
Reports and media
The Incidence of Human Trafficking in Ontario, Alliance Against Modern Slavery Report
This research was led by the Alliance Against Modern Slavery, and was carried out in an effort to address the need for evidence-based research on human trafficking. It specifically focuses on trends in Ontario. The report combines quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis of in-person interviews to better understand the incidence of human trafficking, the needs of trafficked persons, and the challenges that exist for organizations providing services to trafficked persons in Ontario.
To read the full report, please visit: http://ccrweb.ca/en/aams-incidence-human-trafficking-ontario-report.
Local Safety Audit Reports: Persons Against the Crime of Trafficking in Humans - Ottawa and Women's Support Network of York Region
PACT-Ottawa and the Women’s Support Network of York Region have carried out research in their respective communities in order to develop a Local Safety Audit that aims to prevent and reduce the trafficking of women and girls through community planning. These projects are part of the Department of Public Safety Canada’s pilot Local Safety Audit Guide to Prevent Trafficking in Persons and Related Exploitation and received funding from Status of Women Canada.
PACT-Ottawa: Local Safety Audit Report: Towards the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons and Related Exploitation in the Ottawa Area
PACT-Ottawa’s Local Safety Audit Report is part of Project imPACT’s efforts to prevent and reduce trafficking of women and girls in Ottawa through community planning.
The project’s research was carried out between June 2013 and April 2014 in collaboration with partners including Crime Prevention Ottawa, Ottawa Police Service and St. Joe’s Women’s Centre, as well as a wide range of community stakeholders.
PACT-Ottawa’s Local Safety Audit Report is available here: http://www.pact-ottawa.org/impact.html
Women’s Support Network of York Region (WSN): Preventing and Reducing the Trafficking of Women and Girls through Community Planning in York Region: A Local Safety Audit
The WSN’s Preventing and Reducing the Trafficking of Women and Girls through Community Planning in York Region Project and the York Region Anti-Human Trafficking Committee (YRAHTC) worked in collaboration throughout 2013 to collect information on the local experiences of trafficked and at-risk populations of women in York Region.
The purpose of this data collection was to inform priority action items and a community plan for 2014 to prevent and reduce human trafficking in the region. WSN’s Local Safety Audit Report outlines the Project’s local diagnosis that will inform YRAHTC’s next steps at the local level.
WSN’s Local Safety Audit Report (February 2014) and Community Plan Report (May 2014) are available here: http://bit.ly/1mG7MYB.
Media Reports
Ontario
Hamilton human trafficking boss out of jail, living quietly in Canada, Hamilton Spectator, 28 August 2014: http://bit.ly/1vUs0nx.
Arrest in human trafficking investigation, Brampton Guardian, 15 August 2014: http://bit.ly/1rEk6R6.
Meet Hamilton’s new and improved human trafficking unit, Hamilton Spectator, 2 August 2014: http://bit.ly/VVs0q5.
Research identifies 140 human trafficking victims in Ottawa, Ottawa Citizen, 30 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1rEsFeJ.
Suicide on a Hamilton train track ends an ‘already sad story’, Toronto Star, 23 July 2014: http://on.thestar.com/1osBCjr.
20 Hamilton human trafficking ring members deported, CBC News, 22 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1B16yzV.
Manitoba
Human trafficking victim in Winnipeg relieved with arrest, CBC News, 23 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1pcDIUC.
Alberta
Edmonton woman charged with human trafficking expected in court, CTV News, 1 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1n3Ft6Y.
This research was led by the Alliance Against Modern Slavery, and was carried out in an effort to address the need for evidence-based research on human trafficking. It specifically focuses on trends in Ontario. The report combines quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis of in-person interviews to better understand the incidence of human trafficking, the needs of trafficked persons, and the challenges that exist for organizations providing services to trafficked persons in Ontario.
To read the full report, please visit: http://ccrweb.ca/en/aams-incidence-human-trafficking-ontario-report.
Local Safety Audit Reports: Persons Against the Crime of Trafficking in Humans - Ottawa and Women's Support Network of York Region
PACT-Ottawa and the Women’s Support Network of York Region have carried out research in their respective communities in order to develop a Local Safety Audit that aims to prevent and reduce the trafficking of women and girls through community planning. These projects are part of the Department of Public Safety Canada’s pilot Local Safety Audit Guide to Prevent Trafficking in Persons and Related Exploitation and received funding from Status of Women Canada.
PACT-Ottawa: Local Safety Audit Report: Towards the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons and Related Exploitation in the Ottawa Area
PACT-Ottawa’s Local Safety Audit Report is part of Project imPACT’s efforts to prevent and reduce trafficking of women and girls in Ottawa through community planning.The project’s research was carried out between June 2013 and April 2014 in collaboration with partners including Crime Prevention Ottawa, Ottawa Police Service and St. Joe’s Women’s Centre, as well as a wide range of community stakeholders.
PACT-Ottawa’s Local Safety Audit Report is available here: http://www.pact-ottawa.org/impact.html
Women’s Support Network of York Region (WSN): Preventing and Reducing the Trafficking of Women and Girls through Community Planning in York Region: A Local Safety Audit
The WSN’s Preventing and Reducing the Trafficking of Women and Girls through Community Planning in York Region Project and the York Region Anti-Human Trafficking Committee (YRAHTC) worked in collaboration throughout 2013 to collect information on the local experiences of trafficked and at-risk populations of women in York Region.The purpose of this data collection was to inform priority action items and a community plan for 2014 to prevent and reduce human trafficking in the region. WSN’s Local Safety Audit Report outlines the Project’s local diagnosis that will inform YRAHTC’s next steps at the local level.
WSN’s Local Safety Audit Report (February 2014) and Community Plan Report (May 2014) are available here: http://bit.ly/1mG7MYB.
Media Reports
Ontario
Hamilton human trafficking boss out of jail, living quietly in Canada, Hamilton Spectator, 28 August 2014: http://bit.ly/1vUs0nx.
Arrest in human trafficking investigation, Brampton Guardian, 15 August 2014: http://bit.ly/1rEk6R6.
Meet Hamilton’s new and improved human trafficking unit, Hamilton Spectator, 2 August 2014: http://bit.ly/VVs0q5.
Research identifies 140 human trafficking victims in Ottawa, Ottawa Citizen, 30 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1rEsFeJ.
Suicide on a Hamilton train track ends an ‘already sad story’, Toronto Star, 23 July 2014: http://on.thestar.com/1osBCjr.
20 Hamilton human trafficking ring members deported, CBC News, 22 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1B16yzV.
Manitoba
Human trafficking victim in Winnipeg relieved with arrest, CBC News, 23 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1pcDIUC.
Alberta
Edmonton woman charged with human trafficking expected in court, CTV News, 1 July 2014: http://bit.ly/1n3Ft6Y.
The CCR has published a new resource providing information on how trafficking in persons for the purpose of forced labour takes place in Canada.This document is meant to raise awareness about the various dimensions of labour trafficking in Canada. It also highlights some of the effects of recent policy shifts towards more precarious temporary immigration in Canada. These have created additional vulnerabilities that traffickers take advantage of, and have increased opportunities for people to be trafficked for the purpose of forced labour.
The Backgrounder is available online in both English and in French at: http://ccrweb.ca/en/trafficking-forced-labour.
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Outreach Brochure on Trafficking
CBSA has worked with Public Safety Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to create outreach brochures that are being made available at Ports of Entry (POEs) to newcomers deemed to be vulnerable to trafficking in persons.
The outreach brochure has been translated into eight languages (English, French, Spanish, Simple Chinese, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian and Punjabi) and provides emergency contact information for people seeking assistance. The brochures are being made available in public waiting areas at POEs and in secondary interview rooms.
The brochure is also available online at: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5158.pdf
For further information, please contact Christine Achakji (Christine.Achakji@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca).
Public Safety Canada Launches Human Trafficking SharePoint Site
Public Safety has launched a Human Trafficking SharePoint Site directed towards stakeholders working against trafficking across sectors, including all levels of government, front-line service providers, non-profit organizations and private industry. The SharePoint Site is intended to promote and facilitate awareness, information sharing, and cooperation on human trafficking.
For more information about Public Safety's Human Trafficking SharePoint Site, please contact: htt.gttp@ps-sp.gc.ca.
Trafficking-related events
Freedom Relay 2014 Events across Canada, September 2014
The Freedom Relay is back this year in an effort to raise awareness and mobilize local support to end human trafficking in communities across Canada. Funds raised are shared between international, pan-Canadian and local programs for trafficked persons.The Freedom Relay is returning to a city near you throughout September 2014. Get started forming a team and register with your local organizer!
For more information about the event and participating cities, please visit: http://www.freedomrelaycanada.com.
Training: Understanding and Working with Children and Youth Who Have Been Sexually Exploited / Trafficked, September and November 2014
A training session will be held in Saskatoon and Ottawa on Understanding and Working with Children and Youth who have been Sexually Exploited.
In Saskatoon, the training will be hosted by Defend Dignity and the Saskatoon Branch of the Salvation Army, and will be carried out in two parts. The first half of the training will take place 3 - 5 November; the second half 17 -19 November, 2014.
For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/1ozerbf.
In Ontario, the training will be hosted by the Alliance Against Modern Slavery in partnership with the Ontario Trillium Foundation in the course of 5 days, 29 September – 3 October, 2014.
For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/1kEl0Ky.
Together Let's Stop Traffick Second Annual Summit, 17-20 November 2014
This event will be the second annual collaborative international summit on combating human trafficking. The first summit was held last year in Ottawa, comprising Phase One of a four-pronged program to build the world's first International Resource and Coordination Centre to combat Human Trafficking. This summit will be part of Phase Two of the program in order to move towards action and discuss the gaps and challenges identified during the first phase.The second international summit will take place in Charles Town, West Virginia, in the United States and is open to international stakeholders from across disciplines working to address human trafficking.
For more information about the event and to register, please visit: http://www.togetherletsstoptraffick.org.
International developments
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Expands Case Law Database
The UNODC’s Human Trafficking Case Law Database is a global case repository that is available to the general public. It includes summaries and full court documents of trafficking cases from around the world. This legal database has now expanded to include detailed information on 1,000 trafficking cases from 83 countries, and is meant to provide greater visibility to successful prosecutions and convictions in human trafficking cases in order to support law enforcement, legal and judiciary practitioners on an international scale in their work.
The database was launched in 2011 and aims to provide documentation on cases that can shed light to the different approaches taken in countries to address human trafficking and to improve an understanding of the patterns and trends.
The UNODC Human Trafficking Case Law Database is available here: http://www.unodc.org/cld/index.jspx.
The UNODC’s Human Trafficking Case Law Database is a global case repository that is available to the general public. It includes summaries and full court documents of trafficking cases from around the world. This legal database has now expanded to include detailed information on 1,000 trafficking cases from 83 countries, and is meant to provide greater visibility to successful prosecutions and convictions in human trafficking cases in order to support law enforcement, legal and judiciary practitioners on an international scale in their work.
The database was launched in 2011 and aims to provide documentation on cases that can shed light to the different approaches taken in countries to address human trafficking and to improve an understanding of the patterns and trends.
The UNODC Human Trafficking Case Law Database is available here: http://www.unodc.org/cld/index.jspx.