I would have to take a really good look at the methodology. I'm not clear on what questions were asked in order to create that. I'd encourage all of you to have the same approach when you look at any statistics.
One of the things that I think we can suggest by understanding the way concepts are used is that when you look at the concept of trafficking, it very often captures people who are Asian and migrant. You heard from Elene Lam. You'll also hear from Alison Clancey from SWAN after this, who will explain to you how migrant workers get trapped in definitions of human trafficking. If the statistics are demonstrating that the TIP Report is suggesting an increase, that might be because migrant workers aren't allowed to work. That would just be my hypothesis.
There was a second part of that I wanted to respond to. In terms of the arrests that are being made, again, the committee needs to understand.... I don't know where those statistics were collected from and in what ways. It doesn't necessarily represent the number of people who have come into contact with law enforcement. I think it only represents the convictions. You can imagine that there are a lot of people who get arrested all the time. They get thrown into jail and then maybe the charges don't stick, but police really use whatever they have in their arsenal. They use those sex work laws often.
The impacts of PCEPA go well beyond arrest. It impacts sex workers' lives in terms of housing, child apprehension, violence and an inability to maintain income. What that report doesn't capture are all of the impacts of PCEPA. They might capture the actual arrests or conviction rates, but it doesn't capture what the impacts are of the law.