Criminal Code
Bill to Amend--Third Reading
October 6, 2022
Moved third reading of Bill S-224, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (trafficking in persons).
She said: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Bill S-224, which aims to facilitate the conviction of those charged with human trafficking-related offences. This bill will amend the Criminal Code’s definition of exploitation in human trafficking offences so that the Crown is no longer required to prove that a reasonable person in the victim’s circumstances feared for their safety or the safety of someone they know. This will put the onus on the perpetrator rather than the survivors.
I would like to thank Senator Miville-Dechêne for showing support for this bill and offering suggestions to strengthen the bill while highlighting the necessity to first change the wording of the current definition of exploitation in human trafficking offences in the Criminal Code.
Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery that is on the rise worldwide, with an estimated 40 million victims. It is a practice that relies on abuse and coercion to exploit young victims for sexual purposes or work. Traffickers will approach victims in various ways, either by convincing them that they are a potential friend or boyfriend, contacting them on social media, posting ads for jobs or even threatening or kidnapping them. Victims often do not realize that traffickers don’t have their best interests at heart.
In Canada, the geography and layout of the highways makes it easy for traffickers to avoid detection by law enforcement and maintain control over their isolated and disoriented victims. Although there is a popular belief that victims of human trafficking are brought into the country, most victims are young Canadian women. Among the most at-risk groups are women and girls, new immigrants, children in the welfare system, persons living with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ2+ community and migrant workers. The most vulnerable are Indigenous children who live with the impact of hundreds of years of ongoing trauma.
It is incredibly difficult for a victim to break free from their trafficker, and it is a practice known as low risk with high reward among traffickers. Very few cases have been successfully prosecuted in Canada: According to Statistics Canada, less than 8% of perpetrators charged with human trafficking have been prosecuted.
Too much responsibility is put on the shoulders of people who have endured unimaginable things. Most survivors do not identify as victims as a result of manipulation and gaslighting, and yet they are usually the only evidence against traffickers. Without their testimony, the Crown has no case.
Sadly, testimony shows that the fear-based model is the biggest issue when dealing with convictions and that the experience is more traumatizing than being forced to work in the sex trade. During cross-examination, it is common for the defence lawyer to twist their words and call them a liar. This can lead to survivors recanting or simply dropping charges.
According to the current Criminal Code, the offence rests more on a victim’s ability to perform on the witness stand rather than on what the perpetrator has done. Hence, human trafficking charges are often dropped, and traffickers are charged under related crimes such as prostitution-related offences, kidnapping, assault, sexual assault and sexual exploitation. This is not justice.
Honourable senators, by removing this barrier — the element of fear — we will finally be able to tackle bigger challenges in human trafficking in Canada. This is the first crucial step to putting an end to this horrible practice in our country. Thank you.
Thank you, Senator Ataullahjan.
I rise to once again support, at third reading stage, Bill S-224, which is sponsored by my colleague, Senator Salma Ataullahjan.
As she clearly stated, I’m the critic for the bill to amend the Criminal Code in respect of trafficking in persons. I agree with its objective, as I explained at second reading stage.
According to the International Justice and Human Rights Clinic of the University of British Columbia School of Law, asking victims to prove reasonable fear may be a barrier to a conviction for human trafficking. The requirements of the human trafficking offence are more onerous than those of other offences of a similar nature. For example, in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, trafficking in persons is also prohibited, but it does not require that an individual believe that their safety would be threatened. That is a more appropriate standard.
The new section proposed by Senator Ataullahjan has the great merit of sticking to the vocabulary of the Palermo protocol, and therefore focuses on the actions of the trafficker and not on the fears of its victims. The change in language proposed in Bill S-224 is even more necessary because this crime has a disproportionate effect on Indigenous women and girls, who are 10 times more likely to be victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation than non-Indigenous women and girls.
I strongly believe it is time that we adapt our Criminal Code to the reality of women and girls who are the victims of human trafficking.
Thank you very much, senators. I hope we pass to the next step.
Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
(Motion agreed to and bill read third time and passed.)
