Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the committee.
My name is Rick Stewart, and I am the associate assistant deputy minister of operations at Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
I want to thank the committee for this opportunity to provide an overview of CIC's contribution to combatting human trafficking.
I know there is considerable focus on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and I understand the challenges they present in combatting this crime. Having said that, it is important to note that any meaningful and lasting progress in the fight against human trafficking demands constant vigilance.
To that end, CIC works with many partners on an ongoing basis to combat this crime, and we will continue to do so during the games and long after they are over.
CIC works routinely with many partners, including our colleagues at the Department of Public Safety, the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency, and other law enforcement agencies, to combat human trafficking, raise awareness of this crime, and prosecute the offenders.
With respect to the protection of victims, CIC's involvement begins when a person comes forward, either on their own or referred to us by a non-governmental organization like a women's shelter or a law enforcement agency such as the RCMP. Our main role in this is to ensure victims receive appropriate consideration for immigration status, as individual circumstances warrant.
In 2006, in response to the unique needs of victims, the government introduced guidelines that would allow temporary resident permits to be issued to foreign national victims of trafficking. These guidelines allowed immigration officers to issue a short-term temporary resident permit, free of charge, of up to 120 days, to foreign national victims of human trafficking in Canada. The intent of this permit was to provide them with temporary legal immigration status in Canada.
In 2007 the government extended the length of this short-term permit to 180 days in order to allow victims to apply for a work permit, an option that had been unavailable to them under the 120-day permit.
When a temporary resident permit is issued to a victim in Canada, CIC officers help the victim to contact appropriate groups, including the embassy of their home country, provincial and municipal agencies, and non-governmental organizations.
This permit gives them a chance to escape from the influence of their trafficker, and the opportunity to begin to recover from their ordeal with assistance, including health-care benefits and trauma counselling, through the interim federal health program.
It also gives them time to reflect on what they want to do next, whether they choose to seek to remain in Canada or return to their home country. They may also consider participating in an investigation or prosecution if they so choose.
Longer-term temporary resident permits can also be issued for up to three years, where individual circumstances warrant. Victims may also apply for permanent residence under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, through, for example, the permit holders' class, an application for humanitarian and compassionate consideration, or the refugee-determination process.
As well, Madam Chair, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act includes penalties of up to life imprisonment and fines of up to one million dollars for conviction of trafficking in persons.
Our commitment to protecting victims of human trafficking remains consistent, regardless of the manner they arrived in Canada, including in relation to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Nevertheless, given that the Olympics represent a high-profile target for both victims and offenders, we are taking a number of additional steps. We are educating temporary foreign workers and other visitors on how to avoid such exploitation, by distributing brochures and posters, available in five languages, which outline workers' basic rights in Canada and inform foreign nationals of our labour standards.
We will also boost international awareness of Canada's commitment to protecting victims by including these brochures with the Olympic workforce applications. This effort will add to the volume of material we already distribute in our overseas missions and, with our partners at CBSA, at Canadian ports of entry.
We are also engaged in outreach to the hospitality and construction industries, as well as other employers, to raise awareness of their responsibility to ensure workers are protected against exploitation. And we are contacting first responders, such as health care, social services, settlement agencies, and shelters in British Columbia, about temporary resident permits that are available for the victims of trafficking.
No country is immune to this crime. CIC's measures open the door to important services for victims of trafficking. We recognize this is a serious problem, and we are committed to working closely with our partners in a concerted effort to raise awareness and actively support victims of this crime.
Thank you.