OTTAWA – “Canada is not immune to the modern day slave trade. Neither are Canadian women and children, who have been identified as victims of human trafficking perpetrated by other Canadians. The National Action Plan tackles those issues head on,” said EFC Vice-President Don Hutchinson.
Hutchinson and Policy Analyst Julia Beazley attended the noon hour launch of Canada’s National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking at the Ottawa Police Headquarters. Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews rolled out the comprehensive strategy accompanied by Minister for the Status of Women Rona Ambrose, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Todd Shean and Miss World Canada 2012 Tara Teng, a prominent young leader in the campaign to abolish human trafficking.
“The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) welcomes the strong steps taken in the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking to deal with the realities of modern day slavery, both within Canada and in Canada’s role within the international community,” stated Beazley. “We are pleased to see the creation of the Human Trafficking Taskforce, an integrated enforcement team, a commitment to ongoing stakeholder consultation and other initiatives, enhanced measures to address and prevent cases of forced labour and a strong focus on victim care and awareness-raising. Because of the EFC’s current focus on amending Canada’s prostitution laws as a means of addressing sexual exploitation and sex trafficking, we are particularly pleased with the proposals aimed at combatting sexual exploitation, and with the focus given to our Aboriginal communities, which are particularly vulnerable to trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.”
“Many of the recommendations made in our 2009 report, Human Trafficking: A Report on Modern Day Slavery in Canada, and those we heard from others during the consultation process are being actioned through this plan,” added Hutchinson. “The EFC has been active on this file through successive governments and it is exciting to see the steps being taken to bring the various initiatives together into a coordinated plan. We were privileged to work with then Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler who introduced the crime of human trafficking into the Criminal Code. MP Joy Smith re-invigorated the conversation around the need to develop a better coordinated effort at protecting children in Canada and around the world, introducing amendments to the Code to do just that. Bill C-310 is in the Senate right now.”
“We recognize that the government has its hands tied a bit by having the Bedford case on the agenda for the Supreme Court of Canada right now, but are excited by the planned steps to combat sexual exploitation and the fact that the plan includes a continuing consultation process. We commend the Government of Canada for keeping the promise they made in the last election campaign by developing this plan and giving themselves time in this mandate to see it through implementation,” Hutchinson concluded.
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