Winnipeg, MB – The Government of Canada today introduced legislation, the Preventing Trafficking, Abuse and Exploitation of Vulnerable Immigrants Act. The reintroduction of these important legislative amendments to Canada’s immigration laws will help protect vulnerable foreign workers such as exotic dancers who could be victims of exploitation or human trafficking.
The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Status of Women, and Joy Smith, Member of Parliament for Kildonan-St. Paul, made the announcement today on behalf of Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
“This legislation will introduce important legislative changes to help close the doors to the dangerous victimization of girls and women, and we urge Parliament to join us in this serious matter and support the bill,” said Minister Ambrose. “As Canadians, we believe women in all communities should be treated with the full respect and dignity they deserve and oppose situations in which women and girls face violence, abuse or exploitation.”
The Preventing Trafficking, Abuse and Exploitation of Vulnerable Immigrants Act would give immigration officers greater authority to deny work permits to vulnerable foreign workers being sent to Canada to work in humiliating and degrading situations, including those being trafficked into Canada. Strengthening immigration officers’ authority would provide the Government of Canada with another tool to respond to situations where a work permit applicant could be at risk.
“Foreign workers and women being brought into Canada to work as exotic dancers are particularly at risk,” added MP Smith. “These changes will help protect those vulnerable immigrants who could find themselves in abusive or exploitative situations or possibly being preyed upon by human traffickers. It is one more measure that will help ensure that the expectation of safety within Canada is preserved.”
MP Joy Smith is one of Canada’s leading human trafficking abolitionists and recently succeeded in amending Canada’s Criminal Code to include an offence of trafficking in minors. Bill C-268 provided a minimum sentence of five years imprisonment for anyone convicted of trafficking a minor in Canada and a minimum of six years imprisonment for cases with aggravating factors.
Last month, MP Joy Smith called on the federal government to create and implement a national action plan to combat human trafficking. This followed her release of a proposal for a national action plan to combat human trafficking, containing recommendations to address protection, prevention, prosecution and partnerships. Full details are located at www.joysmith.ca.
Please contact for additional information:
Andrew Smith, Constituency Communications
Office of Joy Smith, MP
Office: 204-984-6322
Cell: 204-230-7164
Email: smithj0@parl.gc.ca
Taking Action Against Violence and Exploitation of Women and Girls
The tabling of Bill C-XX, the Preventing Trafficking, Abuse and Exploitation of Vulnerable Immigrants Act, is the most recent initiative in the Government of Canada’s ongoing effort to address violence against women and the exploitation of women and girls. Other recent initiatives include:
Strengthening the Criminal Code of Canada
- Recent substantive and procedural changes to the Criminal Code of Canada to increase the safety of women and children, include:
- enacting three specific offences that prohibit (i) trafficking in persons; (ii) the receipt of a financial or material benefit from trafficking in persons; and, (iii) the withholding or destroying of travel or identity documents in order to facilitate trafficking in persons (November 2005).
- improving availability of testimonial aids for vulnerable adult victims/ witnesses, including women who have experienced violence (January 2006);
- ending the use of “house arrest” for offences involving serious personal injury (December 2007);
- increasing mandatory minimum penalties for serious offences where a firearm is used (May 2008);
- strengthening the peace bond provisions concerning those previously convicted of sexual offences against children (May 2008); and
- raising the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16 years to protect young people, including girls, from sexual exploitation by adult predators (May 2008);
Bill C-268 – Trafficking in Minors
- On June 29, 2010, Bill C-268 received Royal Assent. The bill, introduced by MP Joy Smith in 2009, amends the Criminal Code to impose a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years imprisonment for trafficking a person under the age of 18 years. These penalties apply equally to trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation or forced labour.
Federal Partnerships
- On September 7, 2010, Public Safety announced the official launch of its “Blue Blindfold” campaign, an initiative that will allow the public to gain a better understanding of how to identify human trafficking cases, including the domestic trafficking of women and girls for the purposes of sexual exploitation, while also offering everyone a way to help law enforcement officers identify offenders and help victims. The initiative was developed in partnership with the RCMP and the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association, and includes access to the Crime Stoppers 24/7 anonymous national tip-line as well as awareness raising activities through print, radio and television re-enactments, educational brochures, and posters.
- In February 2009, the Government announced its commitment of $71 million over five years for the renewal of the National Strategy for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet. The aim is to improve the protection of children from on-line predators, to enhance public education and awareness, and support further research on child sexual exploitation. As the lead on this Strategy, Public Safety Canada partners with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Justice Canada, and Cybertip.ca, which serves as Canada’s national tipline to report suspected cases of child sexual exploitation on the Internet.
Increasing Support for Victims of Crime
- Building on the investment for the Federal Victims Strategy announced in Budget 2006, Budget 2010 provides funding of $6.6 million over two years to enhance support for victims of crime, including providing facilitated access to Employment Insurance benefits for eligible workers who have lost a family member as a result of a crime.
Strengthening Law Enforcement Tools
- Since 2008, over 28,500 law enforcement, border and immigration officers have received awareness training on human trafficking led by the RCMP, with the participation of Status of Women Canada. The RCMP has updated a law enforcement toolkit on human trafficking and developed a national awareness campaign called “I’m Not For Sale”. These awareness initiatives include information on women and girls, who are disproportionately impacted by this crime.
- Budget 2010 provides $14 million over two years to increase the ability to process DNA samples so that the results could be added to the National DNA Data Bank.
Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women
- Budget 2010 provides funding of $10 million over two years to address the disturbingly high number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Concrete actions will be taken to ensure that law enforcement and the justice system meet the needs of Aboriginal women and their families.
Increasing Support for Community-Based Programs for Women
- Through Status of Women Canada’s Women’s Program, the Government of Canada has nearly doubled the support available to on-the-ground programs aimed at improving the lives of women and girls in communities across the country.
