This bill is from the 39th Parliament, 1st session, which ended in October 2007.
Diane Finley Conservative
In committee (House), as of June 5, 2007
(This bill did not become law.)
This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament has also written a full legislative summary of the bill.
This enactment amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to allow officers to refuse to authorize foreign nationals to work in Canada in cases where to give authorization would be contrary to public policy considerations that are specified in instructions given by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-57s:
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Speaker, I listened with passion to what my colleague had to say. I know of the work that he is doing in committee.
When we talk about the case of Joe Taylor and the other cases that are held in abeyance because of Joe Taylor, if I were to seek unanimous consent from the House for this case to be dealt with immediately, I am sure he would agree with me.
Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Mr. Speaker, I certainly would, and I dare say I would imagine all the opposition members would agree with the member. The question is would the government? I am sad to say no because the Conservatives do not match their rhetoric with action when it comes to supporting our soldiers.
Immigration and Refugee Protection ActGovernment Orders
The Acting Speaker Royal Galipeau
We are under questions and comments. I think I heard a member ask for unanimous consent for something or other. I think I heard the hon. member for Kitchener—Waterloo say no. Therefore, there is no unanimous consent.
Immigration and Refugee Protection ActGovernment Orders
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question to my colleague was that if I were to ask the House for unanimous consent that the minister deals and grants citizenship to Joe Taylor and all the cases that are held in abeyance, would he be willing to entertain it?
Immigration and Refugee Protection ActGovernment Orders
Immigration and Refugee Protection ActGovernment Orders
Some hon. members
No.
Immigration and Refugee Protection ActGovernment Orders
Oshawa Ontario
Conservative
Colin Carrie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, today we rise to debate the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Bill C-57. I thank my colleague, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, for tackling this very important issue. Canada's immigration system, historically, is something that we are all very proud of.
We are all immigrants to this country. My father was an immigrant. We have to ask, why do people come to Canada? Why do they choose Canada over so many other choices in the world? What do they expect when they come to Canada? Is it hope? Is it a new life? Is it a safe place to live? Is it a future? Is it an opportunity? I would say yes. However, do they expect to be exploited and abused? I definitely say no.
Today we are talking about Canada's reputation. I am proud of Canada and I am proud of Canada's role in the world, but I am very concerned because Canada's reputation is being harmed. Canada is being seen as becoming a haven, a country now linked to an industry of abuse and exploitation. It is unacceptable to allow situations of exploitation, which used to exist under the Liberal government, to continue.
The previous Liberal government did nothing to stop human trafficking. It allowed foreign strippers, foreign nationals, into the country, regardless of whether they could be potential victims of abuse or exploitation. The Liberal strippergate scandal must never be allowed to repeat itself.
It is not acceptable for a government to knowingly authorize vulnerable foreign workers, such as strippers, to enter our country, enter potentially abusive situations and potential criminal activity. The proposed amendments before us address the contradictions and help prevent vulnerable people from being abused.
Human trafficking is a global problem and it requires a global response. Canada has to do its part. The UN has put forth recommendations. There is a UN protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children. It provides an international framework to address human trafficking. Canada has ratified the protocol and we encourage other countries to do so. Countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have take action on this very important issue.
We have international standards. We have multi-pronged approach, a response to human trafficking, what they called the three Ps: first, prevention of trafficking; second the protection of victims; and third the prosecution of offenders.
Canada's new government is taking its international obligations seriously. We are working to combat human trafficking. We are strengthening criminal law to repress and stop human trafficking. We are looking at the RCMP's human trafficking national coordination centre, which provides a focal point for facilitating human trafficking investigations and helping to protect victims.
The government has enhanced training for law enforcement, for border officials and NGOs, on victim identification. We have released new guidelines for immigration officers in May 2006, unique to the needs to help victims.
Canada works with its partners internationally. For example, Canada works with the United States in a binational assessment of trafficking in persons. We are there to help increase awareness of this problem. Internationally, Canada is providing leadership, including prevention and awareness raising efforts for all countries, but particularly source countries. We are taking action.
However, I am very concerned at the stance of some of the members in some of the speeches that I have heard here today.
I listened to the NDP speeches today. The NDP, with its extremely radical left-wing agenda, claims to be in favour of women's rights. Yet it is against more money for women in need. Instead those members are in favour of increased money for advocacy groups, not the people who really need it.
We also noticed the languages of the NDP members in their speeches. They keep repeating “sex trade workers”. It almost sounds like they would like to unionize these unfortunate, disadvantaged women. I have never heard anyone say that “when I grow up I want to be a sex trade worker”. These women and children are victims. It is up to the Government of Canada to take a stance and do what we can do to help these victims, who find themselves in these incredibly unfortunate situations.
I listened to the member for Burnaby—Douglas who said that this was a minor attempt at improving the issue on human trafficking. It is a positive step forward. Why will the NDP not support this very important step forward? By members not stepping forward, they are actually leaping backward. They are against women's rights. They are against the disenfranchised. They are against those who are outright abused in the sex trades.
NDP members are being intellectually dishonest with their philosophical basis. This issue is about people being sexually exploited and about human trafficking. No matter how one wants to pervert the argument, distort the facts, the legislation is about closing loopholes on human trafficking, about human exploitation.
I implore the NDP and the other members of the House to change their position.
We see on the record that there has been some flipping and some flopping and some changes. I will to read into the record what the member for Winnipeg Centre from the NDP had to say about the previous government's record. On October 30, 2005, he said:
The door is still wide open for the type of wholesale exploitation that existed with the Eastern European dancers, and in reality the minister of immigration is still pimping for the underworld.
He went on to say:
Five successive ministers of immigration have been pimping for the underworld by providing an endless stream of fodder for the underworld of pornography and prostitution under the guise of legitimate dancing.
Today we hear that the NDP will not be supporting what the government is moving forward.
With respect to the government's allowance of a visa for exotic dancers, the member for Winnipeg Centre also said:
I condemn the government for allowing this program to exist. I cannot believe how callous and uncaring it must be.
Even the leader of the New Democratic Party, the member for Toronto—Danforth, on the so-called exotic dancer program, said on December 2, 2004, in the Edmonton Journal and the Globe and Mail:
Now the government might not any longer be pimping for the sex industry and that is a good thing and it never should have been doing that in the first place.
I hope the leader of the NDP and the NDP caucus will vote in favour of Bill C-57, recognizing that our government is taking a real and necessary action to deal with this important issue, something the previous government failed to do.
I am very proud of members of the House and the work they are doing on human trafficking.
I need to continue my speech by acknowledging my colleague, the member for Kildonan—St. Paul, for all the good work on this issue. I note she has been an advocate for victims, for people who have been exploited coming into our country. I know she has travelled extensively and has identified the problem of human trafficking in virtually every community in which she has been. She has worked tirelessly and she has spoken, and more important, listened to the victims of the sex trade industry. They have told her that we need to change our system of closing our eyes and looking the other way.
Bill C-57 has been well received by groups working to eliminate human trafficking. I will read into the record some of the things that have been said about Bill C-57.
Irena Soltys, co-chair of the Stop the Trafficking Coalition said:
Stop the Trafficking Coalition supports [Minister of Citizenship and Immigration] announcement regarding changes to the IRPA to protect vulnerable workers. Included in this are women that may have been exploited as exotic dancers and forced to work as sex slaves....Canada, as an international human rights leader, owes them the protection that they are entitled to.
John Muise, director of public safety for the Canadian Centre of Abuse Awareness, said that Bill C-57 “is part of the response that needs to occur in terms of protecting women and children in this country”.
Sabrina Sullivan of the Future Group said:
[The] Immigration Minister...has taken an important step to protect women from sexual exploitation and end a program that made Canada complicit in human trafficking.
It is clear that [the Prime Minister's] government is serious about combating human trafficking.
Even those in the adult entertainment industry are acknowledging the need for Bill C-57. Dale Pidluzny, a booking agent for Independent Artists, stated in the Calgary Herald on May 18:
If there's girls being taken advantage of out east because of that, then yes, they should shut that door on it.
Immigration lawyer Richard Kurland said on The Verdict on CTV Newsnet:
The idea is to prevent any degrading, humiliating treatment, including sexual exploitation. There is nothing in the proposed law about abandoning exotic dancers or strippers....
--for the first time in immigration policy we're going to see a debate where it belongs, in Parliament.
Here is what I am asking of all members in the House, particularly the NDP. It is the NDP that claims to stand up for women's rights, the NDP that claims to stand up for victims and the NDP that claims to stand up and look out for the disenfranchised and those who fall through the cracks, yet due to some NDP members' radical left-wing agenda, today they say they will not be supporting this bill. They will not be supporting this positive step forward.
This issue is about closing the loophole in trafficking in human beings. Canada's international and domestic reputation depends on this action. This is about the protection of innocent women and children. I ask all members to stand with us and support this bill.
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of comments that I think we should also put on the record. I would refer the member to a couple of articles.
On Wednesday, May 16, canada.com in Ottawa stated that “the number who applied for temporary work permits in 2005 dropped by 82%“. That was for strippers. On CTV we heard, “Keeping foreign exotic dancers out of Canada will not address the issue of exploitation”. Annie Temple, who runs NakedTruth.ca, told the Canadian Press that. She said:
If the Conservative government is truly concerned about exploitation of exotic dancers, they should focus on ensuring health and safety standards exist in stripper clubs.
I could go on, but the one thing that really sticks in my mind is the article in the Globe and Mail on May 17, which stated that people “accused the Conservatives of pandering to their morally traditional voter base by making much fanfare about a relatively redundant bill”.
I wonder if the parliamentary secretary would acknowledge the fact that this is such a skimpy bill and that the government is using this bill in order to divert the focus from important things, such as lost Canadians, undocumented workers, and other bills that need to be addressed, and that what the minister is doing is grandstanding. She is presenting this in a bill and it certainly does not even need to be in a bill because it can be worked on administratively in the department.
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Speaker, what the member does not seem to understand is that this is about Canada's reputation. This is about how Canada is seen in the world. Yes, this is only one part of what Canada's new government is doing. We are trying to pass laws domestically, and of course we all know how the Liberals are trying to slow every single bill that we put through, but we are going to continue to move forward because we believe that Canada's reputation is very important.
He talks about being moralistic, but does the hon. member believe in the rule of law, in the rights of and the protection of the vulnerable? Is it not a government's responsibility to look out for and protect those who cannot protect themselves?
This is a step forward. There will be other steps forward. I ask the hon. member for his support in moving forward on this very important bill.
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to my colleague's excellent speech.
Albeit this may be about a smallish part of the overall problem, I read a book a couple of years ago called The Natashas, by Victor Malarek, and I commend it to my colleagues in the House. It addresses the topic of exploitation, slavery and so on in developed countries like Canada, the United States and the European countries.
I wonder if my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, has any information on the gross numbers we are talking about, not just of strippers but of people overall who are being affected by the slave trade, the sex trade and the exploitation of young women in particular.
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. My colleague brings forward a very important problem with this entire issue. It is almost impossible to get numbers on how much of this is occurring in this country because it is an underground trade.
We do not know how bad it is, but as I said earlier, my colleague from Kildonan—St. Paul has been working tirelessly on this. She has travelled across this country and internationally. Everywhere she goes she has the opportunity to listen to people who are affected by this very important issue of exploitation through the sex trade. It is everywhere. She has spoken to young people and also to old people who have been in this country a very long time and who have been victims.
The member brought up a very important point. We do not know how bad it is, but we know that it exists, that it is rampant, and that certain trades lead are more likely to lead people into becoming victimized.
This is the government's step forward. As I say, I am encouraging all members to support us on this very important bill, Bill C-57.
Brenda Chamberlain Liberal Guelph, ON
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the hon. member a question. I have worked in committee with the member a number of times and I know that he really does care about Canada.
The Canadian Council for Refugees is asking a fundamental question about this. Why is such work available in Canada if it humiliates and degrades workers? That is a key issue.
While the government is doing a lot of things that are not unimportant, what I am having a significant problem with is that it appears that some of what the government has tried to do is for political gain rather than addressing the root question of where we are going wrong as Canadians in allowing this sort of work.
I would ask the hon. member to tell me and all Canadians exactly what the government of the day is doing to address that. It is very important, much more important than the Conservatives calling themselves the new government or trying to brand themselves as something different. I think Canadians want to know what the government is going to do to help us in this matter and to make a better Canada. That is what is important. That is what is at stake.
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have worked with the member in committee and I know that her heart is in the right place too. The difficulty is that some of these jobs are legal in this country. What we want to do is take steps forward to improving this for all workers. I look forward to her support in the future with other things the government brings forward.