Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity today to discuss the important issue of human trafficking.
As my colleagues from Public Safety Canada stated before this committee, the Government of Canada is committed to strengthening efforts to combat human trafficking and protecting its victims.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), as a member of the federal human trafficking task force, plays a role in supporting national efforts to combat human trafficking, both on its own and in collaboration with other federal departments and agencies.
My colleagues from ESDC who are here will provide more detail on the temporary foreign worker program. For my part, I would like to focus my remarks on three things: first, the role of immigration in the context of human trafficking; second, what IRCC is doing to help prevent human trafficking; and, third, what actions we take to help protect victims of human trafficking.
Turning first to the context and the role of immigration in human trafficking, Canada's immigration policies are aimed at contributing to Canada's economic prosperity, our social and cultural fabric, and our humanitarian traditions and obligations. Each year, IRCC interacts with millions of clients in Canada and around the world. This includes the processing of visa applications and work and study permits, as well as applications for permanent residence.
As this committee knows, human trafficking is an offence under the Criminal Code, and it is also a federal immigration offence under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, otherwise known as IRPA. IRPA makes it an offence to use “abduction, fraud, deception or use or threat of force or coercion” to organize the bringing in of people to Canada, and this includes the recruitment, transportation, receipt, or harbouring of people by using those methods.
As our colleagues from Statistics Canada and the RCMP noted when they were here, there are challenges to accurately determining the scope of human trafficking in Canada. Thus far, the evidence shows that the vast majority of criminal charges have been domestic rather than transnational in nature, and also more related to sexual exploitation than to other types of labour exploitation.
In contrast, when we talk about labour trafficking, researchers have raised particular concerns with respect to those who have come to Canada as migrant workers. While migrant workers represented less than 1.5% of Canada's working population in 2016, it's true that they can face particular vulnerabilities that can contribute to an inability or an unwillingness to report or escape labour trafficking situations. For example, in addition to fear for their personal safety or the safety of family members that can be present in other cases of human trafficking, such vulnerabilities can include: language barriers that can lead to isolation; a lack of awareness of their rights in Canada; vulnerability to confiscation of identity documents such as passports, which could reduce their mobility; fear of deportation; and, false promises of permanent residence.
We recognize that these are vulnerabilities faced by migrant workers, and while some cases do reach authorities, NGOs, or the media, we know these factors can contribute to the under-reporting of these cases. That's why prevention and protection are key pillars of the government's national action plan and approach to human trafficking here.
Now I'd like to turn to IRCC's role in each of these areas.
First, before we turn to the tools to prevent and discover cases of labour trafficking, it's important to mention that we work closely with a wide variety of partners here along the immigration continuum. This includes ESDC, the Canada Border Services Agency, and, of course, provinces and territories.
We have a shared responsibility with ESDC to manage programs to facilitate the entry of migrant workers into Canada. It's important to note that temporary immigration supports Canada's economic growth, so the purpose of these programs is to support our economic growth by filling labour gaps. This also enhances trade and people-to-people ties across borders.
ESDC is responsible for the temporary foreign worker program, which allows Canadian businesses to hire temporary foreign labour when there are no Canadians to fill the jobs. Once an employer has a labour market impact assessment issued by ESDC, they then come to IRCC in order to get a work permit or a visa, if necessary. In addition, IRCC manages the international mobility program, for which no labour market test is required, and it's designed to enable employers to hire temporary foreign workers to advance Canada's economic, cultural, or other competitive advantages.
Both programs here issue employer-specific work permits, which provide authorization to work only for the employer that's noted on the permit.
We have heard concerns raised that employer-specific work permits can exacerbate the vulnerability of migrant workers by tying their immigration status to an employer. However, it's important to note that employer-specific work permits are actually the basis of these two programs' employer-compliance regimes. It's how we hold employers accountable for their obligations to migrant workers. It's one of the government's main worker protection tools for migrant workers.
First, at the front end, the compliance regimes establish the program requirements to which employers must adhere. These are requirements such as being actively engaged in a genuine business; complying with federal and provincial laws; providing the same wages and occupation as identified in the offer of employment; providing a workplace free of abuse; and keeping documentation for six years.
Then, at the back end, the compliance regime allows the inspection of employers to ensure that they are complying with their obligations. The consequences for non-compliance can include warning letters, program bans, administrative monetary penalties, and publication of the names of non-compliant employers. In any case that we actually discover criminal activity or suspected criminal activity during inspections, those cases are certainly referred to law enforcement partners.
For the international mobility program, which IRCC administers, we inspect roughly 25% of employers hiring migrant workers each year. Currently, there is roughly a 15% non-compliance rate, with the vast majority of these being administrative or unintentional errors.
My colleagues from ESDC will explain a number of additional actions that are being taken to create better awareness amongst migrant workers of their rights and to enhance inspections under the temporary foreign worker program as well.
Finally, I would like to share what actions IRCC takes to help protect victims of human trafficking who are foreign nationals when they do come forward.
IRCC usually becomes involved when someone who's a potential victim is referred to the department by law enforcement or a non-governmental organization, or if someone self-identifies to us. Ultimately, our main interest here is to get the victim out of harm's way and ensure that they have status to remain in Canada and access to support. To do this, immigration officers can issue temporary resident permits to foreign nationals who are victims of human trafficking. With the temporary resident permit, they also have access to interim federal health care and services for counselling, and victims may also apply for a work permit at the same time, if they don't already have one. Both of these can be obtained free of charge. In 2016, 66 temporary resident permits were issued by IRCC, of which 26 were new permits, and 40 were renewals.
By providing temporary resident permits, victims of human trafficking have the time to consider their options, escape the influence of traffickers, recover from physical or mental trauma, and receive assistance. They can also, potentially, assist authorities in the investigation or prosecution of an alleged offence, but they are not required to do so.
There are also options available for foreign nationals who are victims of human trafficking to apply to remain in Canada on a permanent basis. For example, they can apply for a humanitarian and compassionate consideration, although this is a discretionary ground for permanent residence. They can also apply through the permit holder class in cases where they have been in Canada on a temporary resident permit for three to five years.
In closing, through our partnerships with other departments and through the activities I have outlined today, IRCC is supporting the government's efforts to counter human trafficking.
I hope this information has been of assistance.
We are happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you.