Bill C-268 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years)

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to include a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of five years for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years.

[Dianne L. Watts, Researcher, REAL Women of Canada]

Thank you very much.

REAL Women of Canada is a national organization of women from all walks of life, occupations, and social and economic backgrounds. We recognize the family as the most important unit of Canadian society. We see the fragmentation of the family as one of the major causes of disorder in society today. We are cognizant of data that demonstrate that the stable family, especially within marriage, is the best environment for men, women, and children in terms of reducing poverty, fulfilling the social, health, and educational potential of children, and reducing crime and violence. We affirm the family as society's most important unit.

We promote the equality, advancement, and well-being of women. We support government and social policies that strengthen family life.

Considering human trafficking, which is unacceptable to Canadian families, we would like to add our support to Bill C-268. Human trafficking, which involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring--

[Nathalie Levman, Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice]

Thank you for the opportunity to provide the committee with some general information on the existing criminal law addressing trafficking of persons as well as the implication of Bill C-268, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years), which proposes to impose a mandatory minimum penalty of five years for the offence of trafficking in children.

By way of background, and as the sponsor has already pointed out, trafficking in persons or human trafficking is often described as a modern-day form of slavery. It involves the recruitment, transportation, and/or harbouring of persons for the purpose of exploitation—generally sexual exploitation or forced labour. Traffickers use various methods to maintain control over their victims, including force, sexual assault, and threats of violence. Victims are forced to provide their services or labour in circumstances where they believe that their safety or the safety of a person known to them would be threatened if they failed to provide that labour or service. Victims suffer physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, including threats of violence or actual harm, which is compounded by their living and working conditions. Trafficking in persons may occur across or within borders and often involves extensive organized crime networks. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking and are by far its primary victims.

In 2005, three trafficking-specific indictable offences were added to the Criminal Code. Section 279.01 specifically prohibits trafficking in persons and imposes a maximum penalty of life imprisonment where kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, or death to the victim is involved, and 14 years in all other cases. Section 279.02 prohibits receiving a financial or other material benefit from the commission of the trafficking offence. This offence imposes a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. Finally, section 279.03 prohibits the withholding or destroying of identity documents for the purpose of committing or facilitating the trafficking of a person. This offence imposes a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.

In addition, numerous Criminal Code offences have always applied to trafficking cases, such as extortion, assault, sexual assault, forcible confinement, kidnapping, and prostitution-related offences, depending on the facts of the case in hand.

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act also prohibits trafficking of persons into Canada.

As a result, today police and crown prosecutors can choose from a wide range of offences, as they deem appropriate in each case. They may choose to charge or prosecute under the new trafficking-specific offences and/or they may choose to use other trafficking-related offences that I've already mentioned. In fact, in most of the recent cases, we are seeing charges under both trafficking-specific and trafficking-related offences.

Regarding Bill C-268, its proposed reforms would create a new offence of trafficking in children that would mirror the existing main trafficking in persons offence in the code, that is, section 279.01. There is one exception: where the victim is under the age of 18, it would impose a mandatory minimum penalty of five years for the branch of the offence that carries a maximum penalty of 14 years, but not where the maximum penalty is life. The sponsor has already dealt with that and indicated what she proposes to do about it. The bill also proposes consequential amendments to ensure that, along with the main trafficking in persons offence, the proposed offence of trafficking in children is referenced in the provisions that deal with interception of communications, exclusion of the public from the court, publication bans, DNA, the sex offender registry, and dangerous offenders.

The effect of these proposed reforms would therefore include, first, treating the trafficking of any person under 18 years distinctly from the trafficking of an adult, in that the mandatory minimum penalty would not apply to the trafficking of an adult but would apply to the trafficking of a child; second, where the trafficking of the young person is for the purpose of sexual exploitation, for example, in the sex trade, the imposition of a mandatory minimum penalty would make the penalties for child trafficking more like the existing penalties that apply to the procurement of a person under the age of 18, which currently impose mandatory minimum penalties in three different circumstances.

First, the offence of living on the avails of child prostitution imposes a mandatory minimum penalty of two years and a maximum penalty of 14 years of imprisonment under subsection 212(2) of the Criminal Code.

Second is the offence of living on the avails of child prostitution where aggravating factors are present, such as violence, intimidation, and coercion. This offence imposes a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum penalty of 14 years of imprisonment under subsection 212(2.1).

Finally, there is the offence of obtaining, for consideration, the sexual services of a child or communicating for that purpose. This offence imposes a mandatory minimum penalty of six months and a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment under subsection 212(4).

That brings us to Bill C-268 and its imposition of the mandatory minimum penalty for the lesser offence. As has been pointed out, this differs from the Criminal Code's usual approach to mandatory minimum penalties in two ways. First we'll take section 273, which is the aggravated sexual assault provision. It imposes a four-year mandatory minimum penalty when a firearm is used, and the maximum penalty is life. In a case where a firearm is not used, the maximum penalty is life and there is no mandatory minimum penalty.

In the case I just went over of a child prostitution offence, the more serious aggravated offence imposes a mandatory minimum penalty of five years, and a less serious offence imposes a lesser mandatory minimum penalty of two years. Police and the crown will still have the discretion to proceed under the charge or charges that are most appropriate to the facts of a given case, whether it be under trafficking-specific offences, including this new child trafficking offence, or others that I've already mentioned: child prostitution, forcible confinement, extortion, etc.

Recent cases have already been raised in the previous session and this one. The Gatineau case involved a woman who was charged with a specific trafficking in persons offence, assault, procuring, and living on the avails of prostitution, because as the sponsor has indicated, she forced three victims into prostitution, one of whom was under the age of 18. She pleaded guilty and received a global sentence of seven years.

The recent Nakpamgi case has already been referred to. It involved a man charged with a specific trafficking in persons offence, as well as living on the avails of the prostitution of a person under the age of 18. He pleaded guilty and received a sentence of five years: three years for trafficking in persons and two years for child prostitution, to be served consecutively.

I would like to thank you very much for taking the time to listen and for allowing me the opportunity to provide my comments.

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights for allowing me to make this presentation. Indeed, it's an honour for me to be here in front of you people.

The trafficking of a person, ladies and gentlemen, is a horrific abuse of human rights. The trafficking of a child is even more severe. Canada remains one of the few developed countries that does not have enhanced penalties for the trafficking of children. Bill C-268 was drafted with one goal, to ensure the sentences of the traffickers of children reflect the gravity of the crime.

The first two sentences involving child trafficking in Canada resulted in approximately one and two years served after credited pretrial time served was factored in. As such, traffickers are currently able to continue making hundreds of thousands of dollars from the exploitation and rape of children without much threat of serious sanction.

I have put forward Bill C-268 to amend the Criminal Code to address the critical legal aspect of child trafficking and to bring parity between Canada's legislation and that of many other countries. I have commended the previous Liberal government for bringing the initial human trafficking legislation under section 279.01 of the Criminal Code. This legislation has provided important tools for our police officers, prosecutors, and judges. Yet this legislation, while allowing for sentences of up to 14 years, and life in some cases, also has a minimum of zero years. One would assume that for such a horrific crime as human trafficking, lenient sentences would not be an issue. However, Imani Nakpamgi, who was the first person in Canada convicted of human trafficking involving a minor--and I must commend the member of Parliament Rick Norlock for mentioning this in his previous presentation at this committee--received a three-year sentence for the trafficking of a 15-year-old girl but was credited 13 months for pretrial custody. He made over $350,000 sexually exploiting her over two years before she was able to escape. Essentially, he will spend less time in jail for this offence than he did exploiting her, and if you ever had a chance to read her impact statement, it's absolutely heart-rending.

Last year, Montreal resident Michael Lennox Mark received a two-year sentence, but with a two-for-one credit for the year served before his trial, the man who horrifically victimized a 17-year-old girl spent only a week in jail after his conviction. With precedent-setting convictions like these, one wonders what a trafficker would have to do to get 14 years or life.

Most recently, a third conviction has been obtained for trafficking involving minors. Last month a Gatineau women was given seven years for trafficking three girls from Ottawa to Gatineau.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is 10 minutes from Parliament Hill, the seat of government for Canada. They were drugged, beaten, raped, and tethered to objects during their captivity. Two of these girls were subjected to this for six months, and one for a whole year, before their rescue. What this conviction shows is that there is at least one judge who understands that serious crimes against minors require serious sentences, but this standard must be consistent all across Canada.

The courageous officers in the Peel Regional Police Department have taken human trafficking head-on since the implementation of Canada's human trafficking legislation. They were responsible for Canada's first trafficking conviction and are currently investigating almost a dozen cases involving minors. I have to say you can read the letter that the chief of the Peel Regional Police Department wrote to me in support of this bill. The chief of the Peel Regional Police has said, and I quote:

Efforts by police officers across Canada to enforce this law are impressive, yet they are overshadowed by the disturbing number of occurrences that involve victims under the age of 18.

Establishing minimum sentences, as proposed by Bill C-268 would raise the law's deterrent goal, and highlight society's abhorrence of crimes that involve child victims.

That is from the chief of Peel Regional Police.

Allow me to point to Canada's international legal obligations. In 2005 Canada ratified the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Article 3, subsection (3), states:

Each State Party shall make such offences punishable by appropriate penalties that take into account their grave nature.

As I have noted, the sentences so far in Canada have not been consistent with this protocol.

Further, Dr. Mohamed Mattar, executive director of the Protection Project at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, points out:

Many states have specific provisions in their antitrafficking legislation or criminal codes guaranteeing enhanced penalties in cases of trafficking in persons committed under aggravated circumstances, including a crime committed against a child victim...

That is the purpose of this bill, ladies and gentlemen. Canada must have enhanced provisions for trafficking of persons when the victim is a minor.

In the U.S., the minimum is 15 years if the victim is under 14 years of age, and 10 years if the victim is under 18 years of age but over 14 years. In Thailand they have a minimum of five years for child trafficking. In the Dominican Republic, five years is added to the minimum of 15 to 20 years if the victim is a child.

The international community has also called for Canada to enact mandatory minimums for child trafficking. Last October the Report of the Canada-United States Consultation in Preparation for World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents urged that Canada enact a mandatory minimum penalty for child trafficking.

Also, the former director of the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and current executive director of the Polaris Project, Ambassador Mark Lagon, has said,

Protection requires both providing necessary support and assistance to these children and removing the most dangerous predators from the street for a very long time.

Bill C-268 will ensure that the sentencing process consistently recognizes the gravity of this violent crime.

I do appreciate the strong support I have received across party lines for this bill. Human trafficking must remain a non-partisan issue. This bill is jointly seconded by members from three parties and, as you know, during the vote on April 22 received near unanimous support from the Conservative, Liberal, and NDP parties. This support is encouraging. When it comes to the protection of our children, nothing should unite us more.

I am disappointed that the Bloc, with one honourable exception, has chosen to stand against this important legislation. They are the sole organization and entity in Canada that has voiced opposition to legislation that upholds our commitments to the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. This legislation has received strong support from all across Canada, from law enforcement, victims' service organizations, NGOs, and first nations. Strong support for this has especially come from Quebec, and as you know, a detective from Quebec presented to MPs and talked about the issue of human trafficking in Quebec, particularly around Montreal.

I also want to note that I am proposing an amendment to the bill. It was pointed out by the Bloc during second reading that there is no minimum sentence for aggravated offences under proposed paragraph 279.011(1)(a) in my bill. This paragraph provides for an individual to be sentenced to life imprisonment, which means that he or she would only be eligible for parole after seven years. I have had an amendment drafted that is within the scope of the bill, which would amend section 279.011, subsection 1(a), to ensure there is no question that this paragraph also provides for a minimum sentence of five years. It is my intention that this amendment be moved during the clause-by-clause review by the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, which I understand and hope will be on Wednesday of this week.

Thank you again for allowing me to speak about Bill C-268. It is my hope that members of all parties will support this important legislation and soundly denounce the trafficking of children. We know as members of Parliament that we have the power to move this bill forward or stall it. We are nearing the end of the session, and this bill must be returned to the House as quickly as possible. I intend to seek unanimous consent of the House to move the bill quickly through third reading if I feel it is possible that we have agreement on this committee.

With the upcoming Olympics and the uncertainty of a minority government, it is imperative that this amendment be successful. Canadians and the international community will take note whether Canada is unified against the exploitation of its children. Those who oppose it will not be forgotten.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Ed Fast]

I reconvene the meeting.

By order of reference, we are now going to hear witnesses on a private member's bill, Bill C-268, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years).

We're pleased to welcome our three witnesses. We first of all have the sponsor of the bill, Joy Smith. We also have Natalie Levman, representing the Department of Justice; and Dianne Watts, representing REAL Women.

We will start with Joy Smith first, as the sponsor, and then we'll have the Department of Justice give a brief review of the bill; and then, Ms. Watts, you will have an opportunity to speak to the bill as well.

Ms. Smith, the floor is yours.

[The Chair, Conservative, Ed Fast]

I call the meeting to order.

This is meeting number 27 of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Today is Monday, June 1, 2009.

You have today's agenda before you. We have three items to deal with.

During the first hour, by order of reference of Monday, April 20, 2009, we will be considering, clause-by-clause, Bill C-25, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (limiting credit for time spent in pre-sentencing custody).

During the second hour, also by order of reference of Wednesday, April 22, 2009, we'll be hearing witnesses on the private member's bill, Bill C-268, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years).

After our regular meeting, we'll be meeting with a delegation of MPs from the Parliament of the Czech Republic. This will be an informal meeting with dinner, after we've adjourned the main meeting.

I want to remind you that this meeting is televised.

We'll move on to clause-by-clause on Bill C-25.

We'll postpone clause 1, which is the title, I believe, Madam Clerk, and move on to clause 2.

(On clause 2)

Monsieur Ménard.

Child Trafficking

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, today I am holding in my hand a petition with the signatures from 3,678 Canadians from all across Canada. They are calling upon Parliament to support mandatory minimums for traffickers of children 18 years of age and under. Today I will present in committee on Bill C-268. The public is very aware that parliamentarians are going to address this initiative and urge all parliamentarians to support this very important initiative.

Victims of Crime

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is National Victims of Crime Awareness Week and this year's theme is “supporting, connecting, evolving”. It presents a perfect opportunity to raise awareness about victim issues and about the programs, services and laws in place to help victims of crime.

I know one party in this House that will not be taking part in the events to mark this national week, and that is the Bloc Québécois. For purely ideological reasons and because of its narrow-mindedness, it systematically refuses to support any motion or bill that could help victims of crime. The Bloc votes for criminals and against victims.

Barely a week ago, the Bloc voted against Bill C-268, which would establish minimum sentences for people convicted of certain offences committed against young people, particularly, sex-related offences and trafficking of children. That is unacceptable.

The Bloc has the interests of criminals at heart, not the interests of Quebeckers.

Justice

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we can always count on the Bloc members for surprises. They surprised us by being the only ones—yes, the only ones—in this House to vote against families and, just recently, against children as well.

The Bloc voted against Bill C-268 sponsored by my colleague from Kildonan—St. Paul, which will protect children from criminals who try to abuse, exploit, hold and even sexually assault them.

It is always surprising to see that the Bloc can find ideological reasons to oppose everything, even common sense and harsher sentences. The Bloc members really must be living on another planet if they believe they are defending the interests of Quebec and its youth by refusing to vote for a bill that would protect our children.

Under the circumstances, we can understand why the member for Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup wants to leave the Bloc as soon as possible.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday afternoon, in this House, all but one of the Bloc members voted against private member's Bill C-268, which is designed to put an end to light sentences for child exploitation. Whereas members from all parties supported this bill against child trafficking, the Bloc members are turning their backs on families in Quebec.

My question is for the Minister of Public Works and Government Services of Canada. Can my colleague tell me about this important bill, which is supported by the Canadian Police Association and more than 30 other organizations, including the Canadian Centre for Child Protection?

Child trafficking

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec, like the rest of Canada, is faced today with crimes against the most vulnerable members of our society: our children. We have a duty to protect our citizens by using all of the tools available to us to protect families, and especially the children who represent our future.

Nevertheless, the Bloc voted against the interests of Quebec youth by voting against Bill C-268, thereby turning its back on basic human values.

The Bloc was the only party to vote against that bill, the purpose of which is to impose a minimum sentence for offences involving the trafficking of persons under the age of 18 years.

Yet they boast that they are defending the interests of Quebeckers. Will the under-18s be sacrificed by the Bloc? Turning their backs on youth protection, that is the Bloc way.

Child Trafficking

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to present petitions with over 5,000 names from all across Canada calling for Parliament to support Bill C-268, regarding mandatory minimums for people who traffic children 18 years of age and under.

Also, two boxes of petitions came to my office this morning by FedEx. I will be presenting those petitions in the weeks ahead.

Criminal Code

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Pursuant to order made on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-268 under private members' business.

The House resumed from April 21 consideration of the motion that Bill C-268, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Madam Speaker, Bill C-268 is about human trafficking and acknowledging the fact that human trafficking is a vicious crime that must be stopped.

Bill C-268 was drafted to accomplish one thing: to ensure the sentences of the traffickers of children reflect the gravity of the crime. With the first two sentences in Canada resulting in approximately one to two years served for trafficking children, traffickers are currently able to continue making hundreds of thousands of dollars from the exploitation and rape of children without much threat of serious sanction.

I want to thank the hon. member for Beauharnois—Salaberry who pointed out in the first hour of debate that there is no minimum sentence for aggravated offences under paragraph 279.011(1)(a) of Bill C-268. This paragraph provides for an individual to be sentenced to life imprisonment, which means that he or she will only be eligible for parole after seven years.

However, should this bill go to committee, I have had an amendment drafted that would be within the scope of the bill and that would amend paragraph 279.011(1)(a) to ensure that there is no question that this paragraph also provides for a minimum sentence of five years.

I understand that some hon. members do not feel that mandatory minimums are appropriate in any case.

I want to remind hon. members that according to the Supreme Court of Canada, a mandatory minimum sentence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment only if it is “grossly disproportionate”, given the gravity of the offence or the personal circumstances of the offender.

Clearly the trafficking and sexual exploitation of a child demands a sentence that reflects the serious gravity of this egregious offence. Under current legislation, offenders can receive as little as no time in jail.

Countries around the world are beginning to recognize that serious action is required to combat the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. Article 24 of the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings states that child trafficking is an aggravated circumstance that warrants an enhanced penalty.

It is important to note that Canada remains one of the few developed countries that does not have enhanced penalties for the trafficking of our children.

Mohamed Y. Mattar, executive director of the Protection Project at the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, points out:

Many states have specific provisions in their antitrafficking legislation or criminal codes guaranteeing enhanced penalties in cases of trafficking in persons committed under aggravated circumstances, including a crime committed against a child victim;

Dr. Mattar also states that the Council of Europe framework decision of July 19, 2002, mandates that European countries provide penalties for trafficking of at least eight years imprisonment. This is significant since many European countries follow a civil law model that does not recognize the plea-bargaining system which, in countries like Canada, may result in a shorter sentence.

This framework specifically states that:

Penalties provided for by national legislation must be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive”.

There is also a great concern that more must be done in Canada for victims of human trafficking. I cannot agree more.

The long-term physical and psychological impact on its victims, especially children, is devastating. I have continued to call for a national action plan to combat human trafficking that would provide better coordination between the provinces, territories and federal governments to deliver effective victim services.

Only two years ago, members of this House unanimously supported Motion No. 153 that called for a national action plan.

I strongly believe we need to address the factors that lead to exploitation, such as poverty and marginalization. Our aboriginal women and children are especially vulnerable due to these factors.

These concerns cannot be addressed through a private member's bill. I have put forward Bill C-268 to amend the Criminal Code to address the critical legal aspect of child trafficking and to bring parity between Canada's legislation and that of many other countries.

It is my hope that members of all parties will support this important legislation and soundly denounce the trafficking of children.

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to join in the second reading debate on private member's bill C-268, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years).

I am pleased to speak to this bill today and I sincerely thank the member for Kildonan—St. Paul for her many years of tireless work on this, her passion for protecting the young and vulnerable people in this country and around the world, and her dedicated effort to combat human trafficking, not just in Canada but internationally.

Bill C-268 proposes to build upon our existing Criminal Code protections by specifically recognizing that the trafficking of children is a crime that must be treated very seriously by the justice system. It would do this by creating a new offence of trafficking a person under the age of 18 years. The mandatory minimum penalty would apply to cases where there is a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment but not for the more serious offence punishable by life imprisonment where it involves aggravating circumstances.

This offence would mirror the existing offence of trafficking in persons, section 279.01 now in place, which protects all persons, both adults and children, and provides for maximum penalties of 14 years or, in aggravated cases, a maximum of life imprisonment.

The Criminal Code currently contains three specific offences that target human trafficking. These offences were created and enacted in November 2005, just a short while ago. Sadly, however, they have not dealt with the current reality we are facing on the globe today.

Section 279.01 prohibits anyone from engaging in specific forms of conduct for the purpose of exploiting or facilitating the exploitation of another person. Specifically, the offence identifies the acts in question as either recruiting, transporting, referring, receiving, transferring, holding, concealing or harbouring a person or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of another person. This offence applies to both adult and child victims. It carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if it involves the kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault or death of the victim. In all other cases, the maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment.

Second, the Criminal Code contains an indictable offence that specifically targets those who seek to profit from the trafficking and exploitation of others, even if they do not engage directly in trafficking people. The existing section 279.02 specifically prohibits any person from receiving a financial or other material benefit knowing that it results from the commission of the trafficking of another person. This offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.

The third existing human trafficking offence responds to a common method that traffickers use to control their victims. It prohibits anyone from either concealing, removing, withholding or destroying another person's travel identification or immigration documents for the purpose of committing or facilitating the commission of the trafficking of that person. This offence carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.

Of course, these specific trafficking-in-persons offences supplement other offences that can be used to address related conduct, such as kidnapping, forcible confinement, assault and the prostitution or procuring offences, which criminalize the many different aspects of trafficking. Canada's criminal law provides a comprehensive criminal justice response to this serious crime.

Bill C-268 addresses a particularly reprehensible form of criminal conduct that profits from the exploitation of the most vulnerable.

In contrast with what the previous speaker said, there are existing laws for existing offences but we need a specific offence to address the young and those who are most vulnerable. The widespread nature of this crime, sadly, is evident in the global revenues that are generated by it. They are estimated to be as much as $10 billion U.S. per year and the crime is estimated to be in the top three money-makers for organized crime. Further, we know that this crime disproportionately affects children. UNICEF's estimates indicate that as many as 1.2 million children are trafficked globally each year.

The United States' state department's 2008 annual report on human trafficking estimates that 800,000 persons are trafficked around the world each year, with 80% of those transnational victims being women and, sadly, up to 50% of all victims being children.

As I have said, Bill C-268 seeks to amend the main trafficking in persons offence, which was enacted in 2005. This raises the question: Do we know how our existing Criminal Code responses are working in practice? As mentioned earlier, the specific trafficking offences in the Criminal Code supplement existing offences and this means that traffickers may be charged with a number of offences, depending on the circumstances of the case.

In contrast to the statement that was made previously that in Canada there have not been any convictions, there have. There have been three convictions to date for the specific offence of trafficking in persons, all of which resulted from guilty pleas and involved women and child victims who were sexually exploited. One of these cases was in Montreal where an accused pleaded guilty to trafficking in persons under sections 279.01 and 279.02 and procuring under section 212, and received two years for each charge, once again, regrettably, to be served concurrently.

A number of investigations and court cases are ongoing. As these cases demonstrate, while the offences in the Criminal Code are relatively new, law enforcement officials across the country are using them where appropriate.

Human traffickers prey upon the most vulnerable. Their targets are often children and young women. Victims may be kidnapped, abducted or lured by false promises of legitimate employment as, for example, domestic servants, models or factory or farm workers. Victims are then subjected to exploitation in the sex trade or other forms of forced labour.

Trafficking victims suffer physical, sexual and emotional abuse, including threats of violence or actual harm to their loved ones. This abuse is compounded by their living and working conditions. Theirs is an existence that is difficult, if not almost impossible, to comprehend.

With that in mind, it is clear that strong responses are required to address this horrific crime of exploitation and abuse. I am sure we can all agree that human trafficking is a horrible crime which inflicts serious damage on its victims. That is undeniable. I am also sure that we can all agree that we should ensure that our criminal law responds appropriately and strongly denounces this conduct.

Hon. members should recall that in 2006 the House unanimously supported Motion No. 153, which was also introduced, I am proud to say, by the member for Kildonan—St. Paul. It condemned the crime of trafficking in persons and called for a national strategy to combat the trafficking in persons worldwide. The unanimous support that motion received truly reflected the shared support by all members to ensure that we continue to strongly condemn and act to combat trafficking in persons.

I believe that further consideration of this bill will no doubt help us assess the adequacy of these responses. I was honoured and privileged to be able to second the bill. A couple of years ago I spoke at the Asia-Pacific forum regarding Canada's position on human trafficking. The evidence given during that period was most alarming.

Thankfully, many other countries have already adopted the measures that we are proposing today and they have encouraged Canada to do so. I am delighted that the member for Kildonan—St. Paul has recognized that reality and responded accordingly.

A number of years ago I served in the judicial field where I saw firsthand on many occasions the exploitation of our young people. I saw young girls aged 10, 11 and 12 years old being pimped and prostituted, sometimes even by their own relatives. This is an intolerable situation.

There are some situations where we need to be considerate and try to find a balance but there is no balance to a human life that has been absolutely betrayed. This is where we need to stand for all humanity, particularly for the citizens of Canada, and stand up for what we believe is right, which is that young people have a right to live a normal life without being preyed upon by the most insidious criminals. The law must prevail for that.

I am proud and pleased to support the member for Kildonan—St. Paul and I thank her for bringing this valuable legislation to the fore.