If Imani Nakpangi had been convicted of trafficking in the United States, he would have faced at least 20 years in jail. In Canada, he was sentenced to three years for trafficking a teenager and two years for living off the avails of a teenaged prostitute, all of which was reduced by double the amount of time he had spent in custody prior to being sentenced. In all, he would serve less time than the 2½ years he had exploited his young victim.
Just last month, a Calgary man was arrested after being accused of using social networking websites to lure young women, some under 18, to Calgary with the promise of a modeling career that left them isolated, displaced and trapped in a life of prostitution. The charges laid against Codie Toby Cardinal are for trafficking in persons from Saskatchewan and Alberta.
In April, Laura Emerson pled guilty in Gatineau (the Quebec city in the shadow of Parliament Hill) to several charges related to trafficking in young women for the sex trade, including underage girls, who she met at the Ottawa courthouse or women’s shelters. Emerson received concurrent convictions for her crimes that resulted in a sentence of 7 years less 1½ years for the 8 months she served in pre-trial custody. She will be eligible for parole after less than 2 years.
Human Trafficking is not just a crime that takes place somewhere else. It takes place in our country, in our cities and perhaps in your neighbourhood or mine.
Human Trafficking is not nameless or faceless as both the perpetrators and the victims appear no different from the people at your school, in your office or that we might pass on the street on any given day.
And human trafficking is not just about women being brought into Canada from other countries so that they can be sold for sex. Victims are often trapped by language barrier, lack of self-respect or threat to personal security in a life spiraling downward because of the abuse they suffer.
In 2005 the Canadian government made changes to the Criminal Code that established human trafficking as a crime in Canada. However, Canada has no national strategy for combating trafficking and no strategy for preventing trafficking in transit.
Additionally, there is no formal crime in Canada that differentiates between trafficking an adult and trafficking a minor. In January 2009, Bill C-268, , An act to amend the Criminal Code to increase the minimum sentences for persons who are involved in trafficking children under the age of 18 years old, was introduced in the House of Commons as a private member’s bill by MP Joy Smith (Kildonan – St Paul). This bill proposes both recognition of the separate crime for trafficking in a minor and provides for a minimum sentence of 5 or 6 years, dependent on the details of the crime, to a maximum sentence of life.
To be clear, Bill C-268 is not a government initiative, although it has received government support. Bill C-268 is not a comprehensive piece of legislation that will implement the necessary strategies to combat human trafficking in Canada. It is legislation that, if in place previously, would have seen Imani Nakpangi, Laura Emerson, and Codie Toby Cardinal each facing a minimum of five years behind bars for trafficking in children under the age of 18. C-268 recognizes the particularly heinous act of securing a minor for personal commercial benefit.
Although this bill was delayed in the Senate by a legitimate procedural request, as a non-government bill, it survives the prorogation of Parliament and will hopefully continue its progress in the Senate when Parliament resumes.
Additionally, a private senator’s bill, Bill S-223, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and to enact certain other measures in order to provide assistance and protection to victims of human trafficking, was introduced by Senator Gerard Phalen in February 2009 and, on his retirement, picked up by Senator Sharon Carstairs. This bill was passed by the Senate and will have to proceed through the House of Commons in order to become law in Canada. The bill proposes amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that would prohibit charging a victim of human trafficking with a crime, offer victims temporary residency in Canada with the same benefits as a person claiming refugee protection from within Canada, including health benefits and eligibility for work or welfare. In this way the foreign victim, otherwise faced with deportation, is offered the choice of remaining in Canada. This bill also survives the prorogation of Parliament.
These are two vital measures that would have been helpful law prior to the projected influx of trafficking victims to supply the demand of those who regard sex as a part of “tourism” at major international events such as the Olympics. However, human trafficking did not begin in Canada with the awarding of the Olympic Games and, sadly, it will not end with their closing ceremonies.
We endorse a quick passage of these two private Parliamentary initiatives when both houses resume sitting in March.