CAUSES

A.      Poverty

The Committee heard time and time again that trafficking victims are often the poorest, most disadvantaged groups in society¹. During our study, many witnesses indicated that addressing the poverty of women is intrinsic to addressing trafficking in persons. We have heard that in some instances of trafficking, women had sought employment outside of their own country because they were either not allowed to work in their country,² or because their employment opportunities were limited.³ While we recognize that poverty contributes to vulnerability to trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and that it is a factor that requires a great deal of attention, we stress that other factors such as the demand side of trafficking and conflicts around the world are also extremely significant.

Many witnesses have also pointed out that Aboriginal peoples are disproportionately affected by poverty in Canada. The Committee heard that 40% of Aboriginal women in Canada live in poverty, more than half over the age of 15 are unemployed, and that more than half of Aboriginal single-parent households require core housing.⁴

 According to the Department of Justice and other witnesses, Aboriginal girls and women are at greater risk of becoming victims of trafficking within and outside Canada. Erin Wolski from the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) supported that conclusion, noting that “as more Aboriginal women go missing and a huge majority of the cases are not being investigated…trafficking must be looked at as a possible source for information.”⁵ Chantal Tie, a lawyer with the National Association of Women and the Law, noted:

[Aboriginal women and girls] are driven into [trafficking] by poverty and conditions on the reserve, sometimes by conditions of abuse. They are then sold throughout Canada. Basically their handlers start them in Vancouver. They work for them there for awhile, then they’re sold to someone in Winnipeg and then to someone in Toronto, and so on down the line as they get moved around the country. This is an extremely vulnerable population of women--extremely vulnerable--and these are Canadian women.⁶

In the same vein, Ms. Wolski noted, “Aboriginal women are forced into desperate situations in order to provide for their families, in order to survive.”⁷ To address poverty and marginalization faced by many Aboriginal women, Ms. Tie stated that:

[W]e clearly need to work for Aboriginal women, for the improvement of options and opportunities within their communities. We [also] have to address the racism and discrimination, which underlies their social condition.⁸>

The Committee also heard that there needs to be a national strategy to end poverty that focuses specifically on Aboriginal peoples in Canada.⁹ Therefore;

RECOMMENDATION 1

The Committee recommends that, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, the federal government develop a national framework to address poverty in Canada.

RECOMMENDATION 2

The Committee recommends that, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, the federal government develop a national framework to address Aboriginal poverty.

If we wish to address the vulnerability of many Aboriginal women and girls to trafficking, we need a better understanding of the issue. Sergeant Lori Lowe advised the Committee that the RCMP’s National Aboriginal Policing Service had an interest in examining the trafficking of Aboriginal women for the purpose of sexual exploitation, but that the RCMP lacked funding and human resources to be able to carry out such research. The need for research dealing specifically with the victimization of Aboriginal women by traffickers was also emphasized by Ms. Tie and Ms. Wolski. With that in mind:

RECOMMENDATION 3

The Committee recommends that the federal government support work on evidence-based research and data collection specific to Aboriginal women and trafficking in persons, both on and off-reserve, and that the federal government commit to consulting with the Native Women’s Association of Canada, the Assembly of First Nations, and Aboriginal police forces by September 2007 with respect to the best means for carrying out such research. The federal government must report the results of the consultations to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

RECOMMANDATION 4

The Committee recommends that the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND), in partnership with the Department of Justice and the Native Women’s Association of Canada, develop culturally appropriate materials and programs to raise awareness of the risk of trafficking both on and off reserves to prevent the trafficking of Aboriginal women and girls, and that DIAND report back to the Committee by September 2007 with respect to its progress on developing these materials and programs.

B.        Gender Inequality

It seems apparent that gender inequality contributes to the problem of trafficking in persons. As Prof. Jeffrey from the University of New Brunswick noted, “the concerns being raised in the discussion of trafficking are all about the other people controlling and exploiting women.”¹⁰ Sociologist Richard Poulin noted similarly that trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation will continue “as long as men can buy, sell and sexually exploit women and children by forcing them into prostitution.”¹¹ Like many witnesses, he maintained that trafficking in persons is above all a gender equality issue.

Because women often lack economic opportunity, and most of their work lies in unregulated and informal sectors, women are more vulnerable to having their labour exploited.¹² Gender inequality is also evident because of the continued objectification and commodification of women and girls, an issue that Diane Matte, from the Concertation des luttes contre l’exploitation sexuelle, said is “one of the most important issues for women’s groups everywhere in the world.”¹³ Trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and prostitution results partly from this objectification and, as Richard Poulin told the Committee, it reinforces this objectification and perpetuates inequality:

[B]y reducing women and girls to the status of merchandise that can be bought, sold, rented out, appropriated, exchanged or acquired, prostitution and trafficking for purposes of prostitution…reinforce the connection between women and sex, established by a macho society, reducing women to a lesser form of humanity and therefore relegating them to inferior status.¹⁴

Gunilla Ekberg for the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action confirmed that trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a serious barrier to gender equality, and that it is “incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human being.”¹⁵

As a means to address the objectification and commodification of women, Barbara Kryzko from the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women emphasized the need for a national education campaign “to infuse in different aspects of education…that women are not for sale.”¹⁶

RECOMMENDATION 5

The Committee recommends that the federal government develop a national communications campaign to sensitize the public to the objectification and commodification of human bodies, prostitution, and trafficking, for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

C.        Demand for Trafficking for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation

Under Article 9 of the Protocol, signatory states must prevent trafficking by addressing the factors that make individuals vulnerable to trafficking, such as poverty and lack of opportunity, as well as by addressing the demand side. Paragraph 5 of Article 9 stipulates that:

States Parties shall adopt or strengthen legislative or other measures, such as educational, social or cultural measures, including through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking.¹⁷

During our study, various witnesses stressed the importance of addressing this part of the trafficking in persons equation.¹⁸ Witnesses stressed that it is essential to go after those who purchase sexual services and benefit from the sexual exploitation of women and children, both here and elsewhere. They noted that, like many other countries, Canada does not pay enough attention to this aspect of the equation. When he appeared before the Committee, Armand F. Pereira, from the International Labor Organization, noted:

Much like drugs and arms trafficking, trafficking in persons for sexual or other forms of exploitation has both a supply side and a demand side. The major gap here is that most of us in the last few years have tended to focus excessively on the supply side and not enough on the demand side. As a result, we don’t get the picture together and we end up going around in circles.¹⁹

Ms. Kryzko of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women noted the following in her testimony:

By cutting off demand from buyers, governments eliminate the major source of illicit revenue and profit for traffickers, the payments of the buyers, thus reducing the incentive for trafficking.²⁰

The majority of witnesses appearing before the Committee maintained that, by dealing with the clients of prostitution, human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation can be countered. A number of witnesses urged the Committee to acknowledge that prostitution is the driving force behind trafficking. The following excerpts of the testimony reflect this position.

Human trafficking is one of the consequences of the prostitution system. Institutionalization — in other words, legalizing sex markets — boosts procuring activity and organized crime, but most importantly, it legitimizes gender inequality.²¹

Consequently, if Canada wants to stop trafficking in human beings and to protect trafficking victims, it seems urgent that we examine those who motivate it: Canadian prostituting clients. It also seems important to understand and to analyze prostitution and trafficking as related phenomena and forms of violence against women.²²

Trafficking and the prostitution industry exist because men want to buy the bodies of women and young girls.²³

Prostitution is a form of sexual slavery that allows trafficking to flourish and to grow.²⁴

Paying for sex between consenting adults is currently not illegal in Canada. That being said, four sections of the Criminal Code make most of the activities relating to prostitution illegal, namely communicating with a person for the purposes of engaging in prostitution in a public place (section 213), being in a bawdy house (section 210) or transporting a person to such a place (section 211), or encouraging or forcing a person to engage in prostitution and living off the avails of prostitution (section 212). Under the current legal framework, adult prostitutes are not seen as victims but indeed as criminals, just as prostitution clients and pimps are.

The majority of witnesses our committee heard criticized Canada’s approach to prostitution. They argued that prostitutes should not be treated as criminals, since they are victims of sexual exploitation. These witnesses pointed out that it is the clients who buy their sexual services and those who profit from prostitution (the pimps) who should be criminalized.

The majority of the witnesses appearing before our committee recommended that Canada follow Sweden’s approach to prostitution. In Sweden, prostitution is recognized as an aspect of the exploitation of women and children and “a significant social problem, which is harmful not only to the individual prostituted woman or child, but also to society at large.”²⁵ In 1998, the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament) passed legislation criminalizing the purchase of sexual services.²⁶ Under the terms of the Act, which came into effect on 1 January 1999, prostitutes do not face criminal prosecution for engaging in prostitution. However, the consumers of prostitution can be fined or sentenced to up to six months’ imprisonment. The Swedish penal code also punishes procuring. Under the terms of the aforementioned act, those living off the avails of prostitution (the pimps) can be sentenced to up to six years’ imprisonment.²⁷

Some witnesses noted that street prostitution and human trafficking have declined in Sweden since the Act Prohibiting the Purchase of Sexual Services came into effect. The law has reportedly also reduced the number of clients, particularly occasional clients.

The Committee agrees with the vast majority of the witnesses heard: prostitutes are victims of sexual exploitation and, as a result, they should not be treated as criminals for selling sexual services or being found in a bawdy house. Therefore:

RECOMMENDATION 6

The Committee recommends that section 213 of the Criminal Code prohibiting communication for the purposes of prostitution be repealed. It further recommends that sections 210 and 211 of the Criminal Code be amended so that it is no longer a criminal offence for prostitutes to be found in a bawdy house or to transport or offer to transport a person to such a place. Only the consumers of prostitution, the owners of the bawdy house and those who exercise control over these places should be subject to criminal sanctions under these provisions. The Committee also urges the government to recognize that some prostitutes are victims of sexual exploitation. To that end, they must be given the protection and assistance to which they are entitled. They must in particular be given access to adequate services to allow them to escape the prostitution environment.

With respect to the measures required to dissuade men from purchasing the sexual services of women and children or of purchasing individuals outright, the Committee proposes amendments to the Criminal Code as well as the establishment of prevention, awareness and education programs for the general population and the consumers of prostitution (such as john schools²⁸). The importance of these programs was also stressed by Jean Bellefeuille from the Comité d’action contre le trafic humain interne et international (CATHII).²⁹ The message needs to be clear: prostitution is not a “culturally acceptable” activity.³⁰ Therefore:

RECOMMENDATION 7

The Committee recommends that the Criminal Code be amended to include the criminal offence of purchasing a sexual service. The severity of the sentence for an offender should be increased with each conviction for that particular offence. Prior to the introduction of the new offence, the federal government should launch a national campaign to sensitize the public to the harmful effects of prostitution.

The Committee also wishes to stress that purchasing sexual services is no more acceptable outside the country. Jamie McIntosh with the International Justice Mission Canada stressed that enforcing Canada’s laws that relate to sex tourism abroad requires resources:

Without resources dedicated to assist in international investigations, Canadian law enforcement is not adequately positioned to ensure actual enforcement of existing extraterritorial laws which pertain to Canadian offenders abroad.

For instance, Canada’s provisions on sex tourism had been in force for eight years before a single conviction was obtained: it was still open season on these children. This was not due to the lack of professionalism or dedication by Canadian law enforcement, but rather a natural consequence of the lack of forward deployment and dedicated investigators to counter Canadians engaged in the heinous criminal sexual exploitation of children abroad.³¹

RECOMMENDATION 8

The Committee recommends that the federal government ensure that the problem of sexual tourism is made a priority and given the attention it deserves. This requires that law enforcement officials are provided with sufficient resources to ensure that offenders are prosecuted.

The Committee is also concerned that military operations abroad encourage trafficking in persons. We heard that, in some cases, women and children have been trafficked to areas of conflict to meet the increased demand for prostitutes that can be caused by a significant influx of men. While we are not suggesting or alleging that Canadian forces seek out prostituted women and children while abroad, we would like to make it clear that such activity cannot be tolerated, and that military personnel found to have sought out prostitutes while abroad should be punished.

RECOMMENDATION 9

The Committee recommends that Part III, the Code of Service Discipline, of the National Defence Act, be amended to include the new offence of purchasing a sexual service.

Given the lack of research and the glaring lack of programs to discourage demand for trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation:

RECOMMENDATION 10

The Committee recommends that the federal government increase funding to provinces and territories for prevention, awareness and support programs related to trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

D.        Age of Consent

In the Criminal Code, a person under the age of 14 cannot consent to sexual activity.³² Persons between the ages of 14 and 17 can consent to sexual activity, unless it takes place in a relationship of trust, dependency or is otherwise exploitative. Only persons age 18 and older can consent to exploitative sexual activity.

A number of witnesses indicated that increasing the age of consent to
non-exploitative sexual activity from 14 to 16 would help to protect girls and boys from sexual exploitation. Detective Sergeant Kim Scanlan from the Toronto Police Service noted that Canada’s legal age of consent to sexual activity is one of the lowest in the world,³³ and that this increases the vulnerability of 14 and 15-year olds to sexual predators, who are attracted to Canada specifically because it has a low age of consent. Raising the age of consent could also help to protect girls in the unregulated Canadian modelling industry.³⁴

While she supported raising the age of consent, Aurélie Lebrun, Member and Researcher of the Comité d’action contre le trafic humain interne et international (CATHII), pointed out that education needed to take place along with a change in the law:

Laws obviously make it possible to send important signals to society, but a single law obviously can’t really change attitudes. For example, if you raise the age of sexual consent, but don’t teach young girls to know what they’re doing, to say yes when that’s what they really want and they know what they’re doing, that may not be so helpful.

Sexual exploitation occurs at the age of 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 years, 18 years less a day as well, 18 years plus an hour too. So in fact, age of consent obviously has to be established in order to protect young women, but the earlier they’re educated, the earlier we can prevent this and the better it will be.³⁵

RECOMMENDATION 11

The Committee recommends that the age of consent to
non-exploitative sexual activity be raised from 14 to 16 and that a close-in-age exception clause be included.

RECOMMENDATION 12

The Committee recommends that the federal government, in consultation with the provinces, territories and other stakeholders, undertake an education campaign to raise awareness of minors to the risks of becoming victims of prostitution or trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

The Committee also heard from Liz Crawford from Panache Model and Talent Management that, because the Canadian modelling industry is not regulated, it is a “playground for predators.”³⁶ She told the Committee that modelling agencies have been used to lure young people into the industry for purposes of sexual exploitation, and questioned why school volunteers and other individuals who work with young people require extensive screening, and yet anyone “could open up an agency tomorrow, no problem.”³⁷ With that in mind,

RECOMMENDATION 13

The Committee recommends that the federal government work with the provinces and territories to address the need to develop regulations pertaining to the modelling industry to prevent the industry from being used as a vehicle to traffic individuals.

E.        Inequalities resulting from Canada’s immigration policy,

Both Prof. Jeffrey and Ms. Tie emphasized that women already face difficulties in migrating legitimately to Canada. As Ms. Tie pointed out,

[M]any women don’t qualify under the skilled worker point system, particularly if they come from countries where women are significantly disadvantaged. They are not going to have the higher education; they are not going to have the skills to qualify.³⁸

Prof. Jeffrey also pointed to evidence that trafficking decreases when women are able to migrate legally and independently. This was supported by Armand Pereira:

[W]e have a promotion of illegal migration, and as a result, we have a promotion of trafficking, because without illegal migration, you don’t have a place for trafficking. So we have to close the circle by looking at these issues together. This is why it is important to focus on trafficking from the perspective of labour markets, migration, and immigration laws, legal and illegal — legal immigration laws and illegal migration practices.³⁹

RECOMMENDATION 14

The Committee recommends that Citizenship and Immigration Canada increase access to and information on migration channels in order to increase women’s ability to migrate independently and safely.

RECOMMENDATION 15

The Committee recommends that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and the Standing Committee on the Status of Women review the Canadian immigration barriers that may contribute to the increased vulnerability of women to trafficking in persons.

The Committee also heard that the Citizenship and Immigration pre-removal risk assessment process (PRRA) could be used to assist victims of trafficking who may face deportation. The PRRA process, which is authorized under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, allows individuals who are the subject of removal orders and who believe they would be at risk if returned to their country of origin to apply for a risk assessment prior to being removed from Canada. Witnesses indicated that victims who are returned to their country are not only likely to be ostracized, but are also at risk for being
re-victimized at the hands of traffickers. For that reason, it was suggested that specific guidelines be developed that would clearly indicate that victims of trafficking are to be considered as persons at risk for the purpose of a PRRA.

RECOMMENDATION 16

The Committee recommends that the federal government enrich and strengthen the pre-removal risk assessment process and provide specific policy guidelines that trafficked persons qualify as people who are at risk.

COORDINATION AND COOPERATION

Paragraph 3 of Article 9 of the Protocol states:

Policies, programmes and other measures established in accordance with [Article 9, Prevention of Trafficking in Persons] shall, as appropriate, include cooperation with non-governmental organizations, other relevant organizations and other elements of civil society.⁴⁰

The Committee heard that coordination and cooperation will lead to a better understanding of the issue,⁴¹ which will in turn lead to better prevention of trafficking and better protection of victims. As was mentioned earlier, federal efforts are currently coordinated by the IWG. According to Adèle Dion from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the working group

[P]rovides a forum for information exchange between government departments and agencies, fosters a whole-of-government approach, and ensures that the Government of Canada has a coordinated domestic and international approach to this issue. The group is also committed to collaborating with the provinces, territories, and civil society.⁴²

While many witnesses supported the efforts of the IWG, the inability of NGOs to actively participate in the IWG discussion was brought to the Committee’s attention. Two of the witnesses who contacted the IWG advised the Committee that they did not feel that their participation was valued by the IWG.⁴³

Another critique of the IWG is that it has not filled the need for national leadership on the issue that would both facilitate federal-provincial discussions as well as mobilize NGOs to work towards developing a common understanding. Captain Danielle Strickland supported the need for federal leadership on the issue. That leadership could develop a model that provinces and territories could use to address the needs of victims.

Some IWG members have been involved with community organizations outside of the IWG. For example, Ms. Morency reported that the Department of Justice had participated at the local level through round tables, and had met with umbrella organizations and had positive discussions with them.⁴⁴ Kimber Johnston also discussed some of the Canada Border Services Agency’s [CBSA] activities outside of the IWG:

[CBSA officers in Vancouver and Montreal] conducted extensive consultations with regional partners to develop protection strategies for victims detected in their regional areas of responsibility, have built relationships with local non-governmental organizations, and have coordinated with the RCMP, municipal police, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada on investigations and intelligence gathering. Their efforts have been productive in developing sources of information by gaining the trust of NGOs and in encouraging victims to come forward to law enforcement.⁴⁵

Efforts are also being made to develop regional committees to bring NGOs together with law enforcement and other provincial agencies. The Committee was advised by Mr. Dandurand from the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform & Criminal Justice Policy that in British Columbia, for example, the RCMP brought together community groups and made advances in developing cooperation and inter-agency protocols.⁴⁶ While he stressed that this cooperation needs to take place in other regions, he acknowledged that lack of resources was a key barrier. He also pointed out that there are lessons to be learned from some of the cooperative models that have been established. The experience in British Columbia, for example, showed how delicate and complex working cooperatively could be:

[It]’s not only agreeing to work together…[t]here are all kinds of things to be looked at, such as privacy, security of victims, and so on.

It calls for very detailed agreements, protocol, and inter-agency protocol. Certainly, in British Columbia, it took them at least a year to come to a common understanding of who was going to do what, at what time, with whose cooperation, and so on.⁴⁷

Another witness also spoke to difficulties faced by the collaborative process in B.C.:

[W]e haven’t been able to come to terms with the competing agendas. Part of the inability to come to terms with all of this has to do with the fact that we haven’t seen enough evidence and we’re not sure enough that women’s rights will be respected and that there are adequately funded social services and access to legal support for women to encourage them to come forward.⁴⁸

RECOMMENDATION 17

The Committee recommends that the federal government, in cooperation with the provinces and territories, establish a Canadian counter-trafficking in persons office in a central location where experts, support people, NGOs, police, prosecutors and judges can amalgamate expertise and are able to share best practices in relation to combating both domestic and international trafficking in persons. Information and best practices will also be communicated to relevant offices and agencies who may not be active participants in the office, and NGOs will be encouraged to actively participate in the development and implementation of effective victim rehabilitation strategies.

RESEARCH

Many witnesses raised issues relating to the collection and identification of reliable data, the tracking of trafficking cases, the sharing of information among stakeholders, and the need for focused research. While the Committee agrees that more information on trafficking is needed to fully address the issue, the urgency of the situation prevents Canada from waiting until more research is carried out before taking concrete steps to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers.

 Adèle Dion noted that “we continue to grapple with identifying reliable data on the extent of trafficking within our own boundaries,”⁴⁹ and Ms. Morency noted that most of the information they had pertaining to domestic trafficking was anecdotal.

The fundamental difficulty in gathering reliable and accurate data lies in the clandestine nature of trafficking. As Mr. Dandurand told the Committee,

[W]e don’t have really good information in Canada, or systematic information, on the extent of the problem…Organized crime does not publish annual reports, so it’s quite difficult to get a good sense of what it is.⁵⁰

Ms. Johnston from the Canada Border Services Agency confirmed the difficulties associated with obtaining information:

[The difficulty in obtaining] reliable and accurate information about the nature and extent of trafficking of persons within Canada…is attributable to several factors: the difficulty in identifying victims, differences in the reporting methods used, and the constantly shifting nature of trafficking activity itself …⁵¹

As there is currently no systematic collection of information from all those who may come into contact with trafficking victims, witnesses emphasized the need for a strategy to collect information from all relevant sources. These sources include the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies as well as groups that have first-hand knowledge of trafficking in persons, such as child protection agencies, immigration agencies, immigration lawyers and community organizations that work closely with people new to Canada. Mr. Dandurand cautioned that any such system would require mechanisms to provide protection for victims as well as protection for the integrity of the information collected by the police. He provided a possible model for such a system:

Other countries have developed hybrid models. For instance, the Netherlands has a special rapporteur, who, at arm’s-length, keeps information from both sides. Now, that’s important because typically the police cannot share intelligence information freely and make it public, since that would destroy the value of the intelligence. On the other hand, a lot of people working in NGOs and service agencies feel they have to be very careful with the information they have because they don’t want to put the victims at risk.⁵²

In his second appearance before the Committee on 6 February 2007, Mr. Dandurand reiterated the point that data could be collected through a national rapporteur, and emphasized the need for such a rapporteur to be situated both outside of government and outside of law enforcement to encourage NGOs to share their information. He also stressed that regardless of what institution is established to collect data, collecting data will not be an easy process due to Canada’s size, the nature of the federal system and the number of police forces throughout the country.⁵³

Gunilla Ekberg, Researcher in Trafficking in Human Beings, fully supported the establishment of a national rapporteur in Canada who would collect, analyze and present data in the form of reports to the government (as is the case in Sweden) or to Parliament.⁵⁴ If the report is to be presented to the government, she stressed the importance of releasing the report publicly at the same time to ensure that its integrity is maintained.

Benjamin Perrin from the Future Group also supported the idea that a national rapporteur could be a focal point for information gathering, but cautioned the members that the rapporteur’s role should be limited to that purpose and not include coordinating government policies.⁵⁵

With that in mind,

RECOMMENDATION 18

The Committee recommends that a national rapporteur be established to collect and analyze data on trafficking in persons, and that the national rapporteur table an annual report to Parliament. The national rapporteur must consult with stakeholders as to how to best implement a data collection and tracking system that would protect the integrity of police information as well as protect victims of trafficking.

Ms. Johnston noted that CBSA was committed to working with its partners to obtain reliable information on trafficking in persons,⁵⁶ and Brian Grant from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) noted that “we’re doing what we can to put into place systems that will start to track data.”⁵⁷ However, details of the actions being taken by either CBSA or CIC were not provided to the Committee.

RECOMMENDATION 19

The Committee recommends that the Canadian counter-trafficking in persons office consult with stakeholders as to how to best implement a data collection and tracking system that would protect the integrity of police information as well as protect victims of trafficking.

RECOMMENDATION 20

The Committee recommends that the data collection and tracking system that is to be implemented to protect the integrity of police information as well as protect victims of trafficking be used to track those who habitually bring large groups of women and children to Canada.