Mr. Speaker, at a recent breakfast hosted here on the Hill, I was shown a picture, a photograph, the image of which has haunted me to this day. In that picture, I see a man looking out into the crowd gathered in front of him. Perched on his arm is a young female child.
What appears to be a father protecting his cherished young daughter is actually a man negotiating the sale of this child. I am told that she can fetch as much $600 U.S. if she is a virgin, but unbelievably she is not, and so she might fetch 30 bucks.
This photograph is a picture of a silent nightmare and it is happening right here in this country and all around the world.
Budget 2007 has provided funding to help protect children from sexual exploitation and trafficking. This is a good step, but until our trade partners, our global neighbours and our UN counterparts work with us to purge this planet of these violations, none of us will be free of this silent nightmare.