Canadian Council for Refugees – “CCR Welcomes Emergency Protection Measure for Trafficked Persons”

11 May 2006

The Canadian Council for Refugees welcomes today’s announcement by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration of measures to provide emergency protection to persons who have been trafficked in Canada.

“These measures mean that the government will begin to treat trafficked persons, often women and children, as victims of a crime, rather than as people who should be detained and deported,” said Elizabeth McWeeny, President. “Like many other organizations, the CCR has been calling for this policy change for several years – we are very pleased that Minister Solberg has responded to this call.”

Currently, the only provision in immigration law specifically related to trafficked persons makes them more likely to be detained.  In contrast, the new measure treats people as victims of a crime, rather than as criminals.

The announcement today marks what can only be the first step in efforts to ensure that trafficked persons in Canada receive fair and humane treatment. There remains considerable work to be done in ensuring that trafficked persons on Temporary Resident Permits have access to all necessary services, such as social assistance. There is also a need to develop long-term protection measures for those people for whom staying in Canada is the best option, as well as ensure appropriate awareness-raising, training and coordination of all relevant actors, including various levels of government, police forces, NGOs and service providers. The CCR looks forward to working with the government on these next steps.

Stop the Traffic Coalition – Applauds Announcement

Stop The Trafficking Coalition applauds the recent announcement by the office of the Honorable Monte Solberg, Minister if Citizenship and Immigration, regarding the federal governments adoption of new measures to help victims of human trafficking in Canada.

Canada as an international leader has long needed to demonstrate its deep commitment in treating human trafficking as a crucial and serious human rights issue .While Canada has ratified the U.N. protocol to Prevent,Punish and Suppress Trafficking in Humans, and has taken the laudable step of passing amendments to the criminal code (Bill C-49), protection of victims of trafficking has , until now, been largely either over-looked or not addressed in terms of definitive constructive planning and commitment.

The victims, often women and children, have for the most part been deported to their country of origin, without proper medical and psychological rehabilitative assistance. It is time that Canada take responsibility for those we have victimized. It is also Canada's responsibility to be an international leader in stopping human trafficking by actively working with other countries to find solutions to this abuse of human rights, both in prosecuting the perpetrators and assisting those innocently victimized.

The proposed guidelines for "Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking" were outlined this morning during a conference call, chaired by Ben Perrin, Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister for Citizenship and Immigration, Monte Solberg. Participants included government representatives and various non-governmental organizations, including Stop The Trafficking Coalition

(STT).