Disrupting Human Trafficking in Canada: A Case Study in the Gaps of Meeting the UN Trafficking Protocols

ABSTRACT

The signing of the 2002 United Nations’ Trafficking Protocol marked a major global shift in efforts to combat human trafficking. Based on its four pillars (4Ps) (i.e. prevention, protection, prosecution, & partnership), all signatory member States were expected (legally binding) to model their response strategies around the 4Ps, which also align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals number 5 (i.e. gender equality) and 8 (i.e. decent work and economic growth). As a signatory member of the Trafficking Protocol and rated as a Tier 1 country, Canada is presented as a case study of how, despite the considerable resources and initiatives being directed to combatting human trafficking, there remain notable gaps and limitations in the country’s efforts to combat human trafficking. Drawing on a wide range of examples and available data, it is suggested that Canada’s effort resembles a “quilted patchwork.” The article concludes with several recommendations on how Canada can address the various limitations and close the gaps across the respective pillars.

KEYWORDS:

• Human trafficking Canada
• empowerment
• policy
• response gaps
• 4Ps
• national strategy

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ This article is an expansion of an earlier article by the lead author “Combatting human trafficking in Canada: How do we measure up” (2019) Justice Report, 34(3), 16–20.

² Denmark banned slavery in 1792 while Canada did so on August 1, 1834, with the Slavery Abolition Act. The last country to abolish slavery was Mauritania in 1981; however, they did not make trafficking a crime until 2007.

³ Palermo, Italy was the location where the Convention was established. Officially, it is known as the “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.” Initially the Trafficking Protocol included what are referred to as the 3 Ps – prosecution, protection, and prevention. In 2004, a fourth P was introduced – participation. Although Logan (2015) argues that partnership “has been at the heart of anti-trafficking since its inception” (p. 21).

⁴ Quotations are placed around the term “combat” because it reflects a pejorative and emotional response to the injustice of human trafficking and (potentially) undermines the fundamental human rights issues that underpin incidents of human trafficking and the need to use evidence-informed information/data to eliminate the crime. The persistent use of the phrase “combatting” human trafficking is seen as a gap/narrow approach to trying to eradicate this grievous crime.

⁵ Although less commonly used term, Choudry and Smith (2016) use the term in the title of their book on immigrants and immigrant workers in Canada.

⁶ The 2014 ILO report indicated that HT was the second or third most profitable crime worldwide.

⁷ Since 2000 there are now several dedicated journals whose primary focus is human trafficking – Journal of Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking Review, Journal of Global Slavery, Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation, among others.

⁸ Under a new initiative in 2020, the Canadian National Strategy has invested over $75 CDN million in federal measures to combat human trafficking over 6 years, which includes a 2018 investment of $14.51 million for the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline, with $2.89 million ongoing, as well as a 2019 investment of $57.22 million over five years and $10.28 million ongoing. There is no reliable data as to how much is being spent/invested at a provincial or local level. This lack of detail and transparency compound efforts to combat/disrupt human trafficking of any form effectively and efficiently.

⁹ Although not directly related to expenditures to combating human trafficking, a growing number of countries have or are introducing transparency legislation to combat forced labor trafficking (see, generally, Aakvik, 2018, 2018; Greer, 2018). In addition, such organization as ICMPD (International Center for Migration Policy) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) work to help “ensure the orderly and humane management of migration.” Drawing on the models and initiatives by the ICMPD and the IOM, in 2010 the European Commission also introduced the MONTRASEC project model. Vermeulen and Paterson (2010) suggest it is a promising project/model for improving the quality and reliability of trafficking data. The Office of Trafficking in Persons has also been engaged in related initiatives for several years but there still is no uniform and standardized model being used.

¹⁰ According to the 2023 “Trafficking in Persons Report” available at: https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report/. A Tier 1 country includes countries whose governments fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.

¹¹ This can be done through funding and resources for mental health issues, trauma prevention education, easing financial disparities, lowering the severely inflated cost of postsecondary education, action toward reconciliation and healing with Indigenous communities and, of course, gender equality.

¹² The United Nations’ Human Rights Index website offers a rich searchable data base on a range of human rights issues globally (see UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS INDEX – Human Rights Recommendations (ohchr.org).

¹³ Saint John, the capital of the province of New Brunswick (eastern Canada) was incorporated by the Royal Charter in 1785. Its first mayor Gabriel G. Ludlow was not only a slave owner, but he introduced several restrictions, placed specifically on the growing Black community (N. Henry, 2021).

¹⁴ According to the ILO (2023), in 2021 some 27.6 M (55.6% of 49.6 M enslaved persons) of all enslaved persons were being trafficked for the purpose of forced labor.

¹⁵ However, the issue of racism and discriminatory practices toward Blacks continued well after slavery was abolished and even after the passing the Racial Discrimination Act in 1944.

¹⁶ New legislation was introduced in 2014 making it a criminal offense to purchase sexual services from any person. The legislation (Bill C-36) made prostitution illegal in Canada for the first time. Prior to 2014, prostitution (i.e., a transaction that involves both the purchase and sale of sexual services) was a legal activity, even though most prostitution-related activities were illegal (Rotenberg, 2016).

¹⁷ It is interesting to note that of the dedicated journals that focus on human trafficking, they have all emerged since 2002. The first volume of the Journal of Human Trafficking was published in April of 2015.

¹⁸ The countries included Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the United States.

¹⁹ Canada was among the first cohort of countries to sign the Trafficking Protocol. Sweden ratified the Protocol in 2004, the United States in 2005, and the United Kingdom in 2006. Nepal only ratified the Trafficking Protocol in 2022.

²⁰ A six-fold increase.

²¹ According to a 2019 Northeastern University study, law enforcement only identifies 2.5% to 6% of trafficking victims (Farrell et al., 2019).

²² This fact is also acknowledged in several of the articles in the Special Issue.

²³ In her doctoral thesis on human trafficking in Canada, Roots (2018) noted that there “is to date only three empirical Canadian studies that examine frontline anti-trafficking policing and prosecution efforts with a focus on migrant worker justice (Millar et al., 2015), on international trafficking cases (Ferguson, 2012) and on Indigenous communities (Kaye, 2017), as well as a handful of European (Lester et al., 2017; Meshkovska et al., 2016) and American studies (Farrell et al., 2015, 2016).”

²⁴ Drawing on the 2023 TIP Report, it shows that while the number of convictions between 2016 and 2022 increased (14,939 to 15,159), the conviction rate declined (from 9,702 to 5,577). All this despite more legislation being introduced to assist law enforcement and the justice system with prosecutions (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2023).

²⁵ For example, there are police precincts in Canada who have openly expressed that they refuse to enforce the federal 2014 PCEPA (Protection of Communities and Exploitation of Persons Act) due primarily to the legal ambiguity of the meaning of exploitation (see R. v. D-Souza 2016ONSC 2749.)

²⁶ Notably, in Appendix C of the National Strategy it says: “the Government of Canada also met with representatives of sex-worker organizations in Ottawa to hear their views on the importance of not conflating human trafficking with consensual adult sex work and the challenges faced with current approaches to law enforcement” and mention of the federal legislation, PCEPA, is notably absent (National Strategy, 2019). More broadly speaking the term “sex worker” is a controversial term among various Canadian scholars so when not directly quoting other research we use the term “sex seller(s)” to ensure we aren’t providing any weight to the “sex work is work” narrative.

²⁷ The overall rate of guilty pleas in Canada declined from around 60% in 2007/2008 to approximately 53% in 2016/2017 (Milandinovic, 2019) and Conroy (2022) reports that “over half (54%) of human trafficking incidents were not cleared, meaning police have not identified an accused person. This was much less common among violent incidents generally (35%).”

²⁸ Based on their research, Schwartz & Allain (2020) and his team found that in 94 countries, a person cannot be prosecuted for enslaving another human being.

²⁹ John Peters Humphrey (1905–1995), a Canadian jurist who served for 20 years (1946–1966) as the Director of the United Nations Division of Human Rights, drafting, and championing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

³⁰ The Hotline offers 24/7 service in more than 200 languages, yet the Centre’s website is only available in English and French. Given the relative percentage of trafficked victims who may have limited English or French language skills, the Hotline may not be accessible to such victims. To date, no research has tried to document the relative effectiveness of the Hotline, let alone for certain vulnerable groups-individuals. Furthermore, unlike most toll-free lines in Canada which include 800 or 888 in their prefix, the prefix for the Hotline is 833 and the number 900–1010 may not be intuitive or easy to remember. There is no evidence as to how the number was assigned to the Hotline. Again, while commendable, this is considered another gap in the service and efforts to combat TIP in Canada. There is no evidence that any discussion about using three (even 4) digit number like 911, 311, etc. as emergency numbers for survivors of human trafficking would be a more effective option than an 11-digit number. By contrast, the province of Alberta offers 911 as a call number for someone in immediate danger and 211 for general resources and support.

³¹ For further details see https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/cntrng-crm/hmn-trffckng/spprt-vctms-srvvrs-en.aspx. However, in 2007, if someone was rescued from trafficking, they can be granted a TRP under the auspices of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

³² In 2023 the Alberta NGO ACT started conducting the first study on sexual exploitation and forced labor with the objective of developing standardized guidelines for front line workers in both areas of human trafficking. The projects are scheduled to be completed in Spring 2024 (see, generally, https://www.actalberta.org/what-we-do/research-community-action).

³³ See https://www.canadianhumantraffickinghotline.ca/referral-directory/

³⁴ For example, NIMC (Not In My City in Alberta) and the Ontario anti-human trafficking strategy led by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.

³⁵ In March 2023, the budget was increased to $22.8 million but at the time any progress on the initiative “was unclear” (Black, 2023).

³⁶ For a complete description of the 9-point action plan and the status of the Task Force’s mandate see https://www.alberta.ca/human-trafficking-action-plan.aspx

³⁷ The lead author is Team Lead of the research phase of the two projects.

³⁸ See https://www.pact-ottawa.org/

³⁹ The article appears in the Special Issue “Vulnerability and the Legal Protection of Migrants: A Critical Look at the Canadian Context” and includes several other articles that address the plight vulnerable workers and a lack of prevention and protection measures.

⁴⁰ The four main international treaties to which Canada is a signatory member of include 1) UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children, 2) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography, 3) ILO Convention 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, and 4) Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

⁴¹ For more details on the work that RAGAS engages in see https://ragas.online/ RAGAS includes such partners as UPS, The Salvation Army, Delta Airlines, Mekong Club, and others.

⁴² See Fraser (2008) for a detailed analysis of the promise and limitation of the Declaration.

⁴³ The Great Barrington Declaration was an initiative introduced and signed by the citizens of Great Barrington, Massachusetts and supposed to be based on scientific-evidence to combat COVID-19. White (2020a) describes five main flaws with the declaration which can be applied to the “Beyond Zero” declaration which based on a partnership.

⁴⁴ Although beyond the scope of this article, there are several notable gaps in the Declaration which suggest further consultation may be appropriate. For example, under “We know that in Canada” it is stated that “Perpetrators use various forms of social media as human trafficking recruiting tools … ” There is a complete absence of acknowledging the growing role of augmented intelligence and other technologies which are rapidly becoming more normative in the recruiting process of prospective victims and there is mention of how to improve prosecution rates.

⁴⁵ For example, when preparing this article, there were several Bills before the government to amend the current legislation to address the gaps in TIP legislation.

⁴⁶ Refer to Article 9(5) of the Trafficking Protocol that mandates that signatories strengthen legislative and other measures such as “educational, social or cultural measures” that seek to “discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking”

⁴⁷ For example, there is no reference to addressing the issue of demand in the newly proposed Zero Tolerance Declaration.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the none [none].