Madam Chair, members of the committee, as Detective Constable Holm mentioned, the Ng file was very frustrating for the investigators because no protocols or guidelines existed in Canada. Due to the professionalism of all personnel involved in all agencies, we worked through each hurdle and frustration until the victims were returned to China safely.
Many things were learned during the investigation and already some important strides have been made. Currently, several initiatives are being embarked upon to create protocols to ensure that investigators in British Columbia and other areas of Canada do not have to repeat the problems encountered in that file.
We have five recommendations we'd like to offer to you as a result of our experience to date. First, Canada must establish better training for all police jurisdictions in relation to international human trafficking and domestic human trafficking. This training should be directed at the RCMP, provincial police and municipal police, the city police departments and other agencies. I am pleased to tell you that the RCMP and Vancouver have commenced with some of these training initiatives already.
We should include our partners in Citizenship and Immigration Canada, also CBSA, and it's also essential that provincial and federal crown counsel are trained in this crime as well.
We could start with this committee recommending that the Canadian Police College create a course for national training and have that training course ready for students in 2007 or 2008.
Second, Canada must establish funding for police agencies to deal with these costly human trafficking files so that departmental budgetary concerns do not threaten effective investigations due to fiscal restraint.
There are approximately 55,000 police members in Canada, and the RCMP comprises approximately 15,000 members or 27% of policing. Funding and staffing increases to the RCMP will not satisfy non-RCMP jurisdictions. One thousand new RCMP members do not assist Vancouver with these labour-intensive investigations, although we do applaud the government for the direction that it's taking with those resources.
Third, Canada must have strong laws surrounding prostitution offences, and we must have vice units enforcing these laws to root out the victims and to prosecute the offenders. Bill C-49, creating section 279 of the Criminal Code of Canada, was an excellent start, especially in regard to domestic human trafficking. Decriminalizing laws surrounding the sex trade will weaken Canada's response to human trafficking and make our youth more vulnerable to sexual consumers and predators.
No 14-year-old boy or girl chooses to enter the sex trade. I'll say that again, because all the experts agree that the average age they enter the sex trade is 14. No 14-year-old girl or boy chooses to enter the sex trade. Do not decriminalize, do not abandon our youth.
The fourth recommendation: Canada needs swift trials to lessen the impact on the victims and send a clear message to the criminals that this type of crime will be investigated and punished rapidly. We should employ the same procedures as we use to process domestic violence cases. Victims should have the ability to screen their testimony from the accused, so that the appearance of that person who victimized them previously does not take them back into the nightmare of their crime. We need to protect the victims.
Fifth, Canada needs to encourage conferences and seminars to exchange best practices and learn from our collective experiences. I am pleased to say that the RCMP, Toronto Police, and Edmonton Police have taken lead roles in this regard by hosting conferences and seminars, and Vancouver plans on participating next year. Canada is a partner in this global problem of human trafficking and we should take a leadership role as a developed nation.
This Parliament and this Standing Committee on the Status of Women have an important role to fulfill in safeguarding women and children against this sinister exploitation.
Finally, Canada has made a commitment to the UN and to the world that this type of crime cannot go undetected or unpunished. We must now put procedures in place to live up to that high ideal, and we can make a difference one victim at a time.
Thank you, Madam Chair. That's the Vancouver perspective on the issue, and Detective Constable Holm and I would be pleased to answer any questions concerning prostitution laws, vice work, or human trafficking.