Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank the witnesses for joining us. Your presentations were all very interesting.
I would like to express a minor concern.
An amount of $20 million works out to $4 million a year. The Premier of Manitoba was saying yesterday that his province will receive slightly under $200,000 a year. We can all agree that under $200,000 a year for a province that spends $8 million to deal with prostitution is very little. I am sorry, but that's like a slap in the face.
My question is for Ms. Pate and Ms. Edwards.
Certain provisions of the Criminal Code already criminalize human trafficking. This is mentioned in section 279.01. As for exploitation, that is covered in subsections 279.04(1) and 279.04(2). Subsection 213(1), which was struck down by the Supreme Court, criminalizes the following, and I quote: “engaging in prostitution or of obtaining the sexual services of a prostitute”.
How will Bill C-36 improve the situation? Legislation on this issue already exists. Since yesterday, all the witnesses have been talking about how troubling the situation on the ground is. What will Bill C-36 add? How will it help women in these situations? Is the $20 million amount alone supposed to help them? What will change compared with the current situation?