Status of Women Committee on Dec. 8th, 2009

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

You also talked about a threat assessment document that's almost complete. I would presume that it's going to be an internal departmental document. Could you give me an understanding of what that is?

[Supt Michel Aubin]

It is internal, but it's done by the Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre. Once it's completed, we will be sharing it with law enforcement agencies that need to be aware of the contents, meaning those we've identified as having criminal organizations operating in their area of jurisdiction. The idea is to share it with those agencies so they can make sure they're aware of the intelligence. Then they can direct their resources according to their needs and what not.

Yes, we will be sharing it, but it's within law enforcement.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

I have one quick question, and then I hope to leave a minute or two for my colleague.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Go ahead.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Just to follow up in terms of the question you didn't get to respond to, you looked at the temporary work permits, and it didn't seem that there had been a lot for a number of years. Is that the tip of the iceberg? From a federal perspective, are there any numbers? Where would you care to go in terms of a response to Mr. Desnoyers' question that you didn't have time for?

[Supt Michel Aubin]

Is your question in relation to temporary resident permits?

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

No. I looked at it and thought there were not very many, so I wondered if we really have the tip of the iceberg here. Indeed, in Canada, how big do you expect this issue is?

[Supt Michel Aubin]

The scope of the problem is hard to determine. Our threat assessment is meant not to determine the scope of the problem but to identify the organizations involved. If I may answer it this way, I think what's helpful to understand is that a number of years ago we had only five human trafficking convictions in Canada; today we have 24 cases and more before the courts. We have a number of cases, as well, that are offences related to human trafficking.

There's an awareness going on. Law enforcement and prosecutors are realizing what the problem is, and they're adjusting accordingly. I think it's normal that you have that evolution. It takes time to have that awareness and for the courts to be sensitized and to deal with these cases accordingly.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thanks.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Could I have just a minute?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Yes.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Great. Thank you.

My question is for the Vancouver Police Department. Recently our government introduced mandatory reporting, by Internet service providers, of child pornography. I'm wondering if you can comment on how that will help you protect young girls, who are the primary victims of child pornography, not only because of the reporting requirements but also because of the requirement to maintain and protect evidence.

[Bob Usui]

That's a great question.

I was so happy when that legislation came forward, because our unit's really active in these investigations. You know what? It will secure the evidence for us, because sometimes it is difficult with the IP addresses and the ISPs to get that information in a timely manner. This legislation definitely not only supports us but supports law enforcement all across this country.

I'm not sure if the committee is aware that craigslist is rampant with advertising for sex, especially with young girls. We had a case just last week of an advertisement from a fellow who was looking for sex with a young girl under 14. That was brought to our attention, and we actually embarked on an undercover operation. We actually arrested this subject last week. He showed up at a meeting point, fully looking to find probably a 13- or 14-year-old girl, but all he found was a bunch of cops. He was charged with a number of offences. You know what? That day we prevented a sexual assault from happening.

These are the things I see, and part of that legislation is really going to help us.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you.

Madam Mathyssen.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you for being here. We appreciate your time and expertise.

One of the reasons we did ask you back was this newspaper article or, rather, media report. I'm going to quote from it. This is from a former prostitute and a current front-line worker who said that she was working with a couple of women who work in massage parlours and others who work on the street, and they reported that currently their pimps are organizing a whole lot of them to head in the direction of the Olympics in the next few weeks. I'm wondering if you have the resources to follow up on something like this.

Have you been in touch with police services in the large cities like Toronto or Montreal where young women may be coming from?

[Supt Michel Aubin]

That's a good question, and it speaks to the purpose of the Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre, if I may address it that way. The problem is located in large cities across Canada. The national coordination centre is intended exactly for that. It's to be able to make those connections.

One of its mandates is sharing intelligence. In many of these cities when they do engage in a human trafficking investigation, they will communicate with Marie-Claude's office and let them know, because their job is to make those connections. When we do have intelligence that would suggest that people are organizing in city A and headed to Vancouver, that information will be passed on to the RCMP, the Vancouver police, and what not.

As we explained before, we have, in my view, as comprehensive an approach as possible to try to address any information indicating that there are going to be people headed there for that purpose.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you.

You said that the RCMP border integrity program in B.C. has been identifying potential victims of human trafficking and that they are actively engaged in human trafficking investigations. I'm wondering what you look for when you're identifying victims. How do you identify the victims?

[Supt Michel Aubin]

There are a number of ways they go about it. A lot of it has to do with sources and dealing with the public. The public could be in many forms in terms of various industries that may come in contact with these individuals. Law enforcement by practice has contacts in all areas of the community and they try to gather information. The RCMP, like the Vancouver police, are trying to be proactive in trying to identify areas where human trafficking is happening and addressing it rather aggressively, if I may suggest. We're aware of this potential. We're trying to address it and make sure we try to prevent it and preclude it.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Monsieur Lamontagne, you talked about the training and the people at risk workshops as part of the port of entry recruit training course to assist in identifying vulnerable people. I think it was previously asked, but I want to pick up on that. How extensive are these workshops? Could you give me a sense?

[Ken Lamontagne]

The workshops identify the rules and protocols to follow with respect to dealing with victims as well as identifying cases with respect to trafficking. They look at behavioural indicators and what to look out for, what to look for in certain cases, and what to be on the lookout for with respect to the victims and the traffickers. They are extensive workshops in that regard.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

They would go on for several days.

[Ken Lamontagne]

I couldn't tell you the length, but I can tell you in a general context the type of information that's in those workshops.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

You feel quite confident that when officers are finished with these workshops they are fully prepared and have the ability to do the job you're looking for.

[Ken Lamontagne]

Yes, I do at this point.