432-00901 (Justice)

The Government of Canada takes the issue of human trafficking seriously and is committed to the protection of children, women, girls, and other vulnerable members of society from all forms of exploitation and abuse, including sexual exploitation and labour trafficking in Canada and abroad.

Canada’s criminal laws prohibit trafficking in persons for any exploitative purpose, regardless of whether it occurs within Canada or involves bringing persons into Canada. The Criminal Code of Canada contains specific human trafficking offences that are punishable by maximum penalties as high as life imprisonment, with mandatory minimum penalties ranging from one to six years.

In fall 2019 the Government of Canada launched the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (National Strategy), which brings together federal efforts under one strategic framework, and is supported by an investment of $57.22 million over five years and $10.28 million ongoing. As the lead department on the National Strategy, Public Safety Canada works closely with the Canada Border Services Agency; Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Justice Canada; Global Affairs Canada; Statistics Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada and other federal departments and agencies to ensure a whole-of-government response to this horrendous crime.

Through the National Strategy, the Government of Canada is investing up to $22 million over four years to provide support to 63 organizations to identify and provide counselling to victims and survivors of human trafficking; provide transition and second stage housing; and provide mental health services, legal services, and employment services and supports, including training and tools to gain financial independence. This builds on a previous investment of $1 million annually for Justice Canada’s Victims Fund to support victims of human trafficking, as well as $14.5 million over five years and $2.89 million ongoing to create the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline. Investments under the National Strategy are also supporting the launch of a national public awareness campaign, development of training tools to help key sectors identify victims, and enhanced federal capacity to detect and respond to suspected cases.

In 2012, the Conservative government of the day indicated that it would invest $25M over four years to address human trafficking. It should be noted that participating federal departments and agencies did not receive new, dedicated funding and carried out their anti-human trafficking activities using existing internal resources. Of this existing funding, only $500,000 was committed for enhancing supports for survivors. Karlee Sapoznik, president of the Alliance Against Modern Slavery, criticized the plan for ignoring the country's "crucial lack of research and data," writing that "we need sustained research on the nature of human trafficking within and involving Canada." And as Nora Loreto decried, “Harper's government has done irreparable harm to Canada's data collection, surely making research on human trafficking more difficult. And, one of the first decisions that the Conservatives made was to cut nearly all of Canada's Status of Women offices.”

In an effort to increase proactive law enforcement techniques, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has strengthened efforts to counter human trafficking through awareness, community outreach, building and enhancing partnerships, and advancing operational policy and reporting. The RCMP is also providing ongoing support to national and local efforts to effectively combat human trafficking by investigating, disrupting and bringing to justice those who are involved in this crime. In addition, the Government of Canada provides training to law enforcement and criminal justice practitioners across Canada on trafficking in persons and sex trade offences that are victim-centered and trauma-informed. It is important to note that while the Government acknowledges the importance of training stakeholders, including judges, the development and delivery of judicial education is managed by the judiciary and cannot be mandated by any level of government. The National Judicial Institute, which is at arm’s length from government, is responsible for judicial training and has developed programming to increase the judiciary’s understanding of the complex issues of human trafficking.

In the recent Supplementary Estimates C and Main Estimates 2020-21, our government requested additional funds to support improvements to federal policing investigative capacity by bolstering its capability with additional policing professionals, investigators and scientists. This will be used to deal with federal policing initiatives, which include responding to money laundering, cybercrime such as child sexual exploitation, and national security such as responding to terrorism and foreign-influenced activities. Through the Main Estimates we sought $6.3M for the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking. Unfortunately, the Conservatives voted against this funding.

Recognizing the importance of increasing knowledge of the scope and scale of the crime in Canada, the Government of Canada continues to collect police-reported data related to incidents of human trafficking, from approximately 1,200 police services and detachments across Canada through the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey. Building on this source of data, under the National Strategy, the Government of Canada is working to strengthen the collection and analysis of human trafficking data and making this information available on an annual basis. Trafficking in persons in Canada, 2019, a dedicated bi-ennial report analyzing police-reported human trafficking data, was released on May 4, 2021. The report is available here: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-005-x/2021001/article/00001-eng.htm

Addressing crime and violent victimization is a shared responsibility between the provinces, territories and the federal government, with many programs and support services provided by provinces and territories. In recognition of these jurisdictional roles and the need to work closely together to combat this crime, the Government of Canada is taking steps to increase coordination and collaboration with provincial and territorial partners through federal-provincial-territorial forums. In order to strengthen engagement with other partners, civil society and the private sector, the Government of Canada has committed to hosting annual stakeholder engagement sessions as part of the National Strategy. These engagement sessions will provide opportunities for knowledge and information sharing, identification of emerging trends, and informing policy and program development. The Government of Canada also supports public-private partnerships, such as Project Protect, which is led by the Bank of Montreal Financial Group in partnership with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada as well as a number of financial institutions. Project Protect continues to provide proactive financial intelligence to support law enforcement investigations of financial crimes that are potentially linked to human trafficking.

Please be assured that the Government of Canada is committed to combating human trafficking and protecting vulnerable populations while working closely with domestic and international partners. The Government of Canada acknowledges the important annual research undertaken by the Government of the United States of America and will continue to consider seriously the recommendations of international partners as we strive to eradicate human trafficking and support victims and survivors. The Government will continue to work diligently to better understand gaps in Canada’s collective response to this crime to build stronger and safer communities across Canada, in order to remain a global leader in the fight against this crime and in the protection of human rights.