Good afternoon, Madam Chair, and members of the committee. Thank you for inviting us to appear before you again.
For those who are following my prepared notes, and in the spirit of respecting the time limit, I will be skipping through the first four pages. The first four pages emphasize what the RCMP is doing through its Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre, based in Ottawa.
I will highlight a couple of things that were mentioned the last time we appeared concerning awareness across Canada.
Since 2008, in excess of 2,200 law enforcement and prosecutors have attended the RCMP human trafficking awareness workshops that were delivered in more than 20 cities across Canada. Members of the national coordination centre and regional human trafficking awareness coordinators travelled extensively across Canada to raise awareness on human trafficking. To date they have provided awareness sessions to more than 21,000 law enforcement, government, and non-government organizations and the public across Canada.
As well, in 2009 more than 3,000 human trafficking law enforcement tool kits, of which we have samples here, have been distributed to law enforcement agencies across Canada, including 342 in British Columbia alone. A mass distribution of the tool kits to non-governmental organizations is planned for 2010.
I will focus now on the human trafficking initiatives that have been put in place for British Columbia specifically.
In that province, the RCMP Border Integrity Program has a detailed approach in place to prevent human trafficking and address any information that might surface leading up to the 2010 Olympics. This approach has a number of prongs and includes the monitoring of intelligence, raising awareness, building on partnerships and proactively engaging in human trafficking investigations.
This approach ensures that we are both comprehensive and inclusive.
The RCMP, aside from its own criminal intelligence program, leads a 2010 integrated security unit joint intelligence group, which monitors intelligence on criminal activities related to the Olympics and Paralympics, including human trafficking. The RCMP border integrity immigration and passport unit in British Columbia liaises with various units and partner agencies, as well as with the Vancouver police, to gather and disseminate intelligence relating to human trafficking in the Olympics in a timely fashion. In addition, the national coordination centre in Ottawa coordinates and disseminates intelligence among law enforcement across Canada, including intelligence stemming from the 2010 integrated security unit joint intelligence group.
On the topic of awareness, the British Columbia human trafficking coordinator has taken an active role in raising awareness within that province. Within the last two years leading up to the Olympics, nine workshops were conducted in the Okanagan region, the Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island, to a total of 714 law enforcement personnel. In addition, awareness sessions have been delivered to close to 600 law enforcement, government, and non-government organizations and the public.
Attendees were trained to recognize human trafficking indicators. Law enforcement officers were provided with tools to better equip them to detect and investigate human trafficking cases. Officers were made aware of the potential for an increase in human trafficking during the lead-up to the 2010 Olympics, and they were requested to add an intelligence-gathering component to their human trafficking investigations, specifically intelligence directly related to an increase in human trafficking during the Olympics.
During the workshops RCMP cases were presented to law enforcement, prompting other units within the Lower Mainland to commence proactive trafficking operations within the sex trade.
The RCMP in BC has built excellent partnerships with local law enforcement, NGOs and shelters. Specific partnerships include, but are not limited to, the BC Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons, the Vancouver police, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a variety of non-government and religious organizations, including the Salvation Army.
A 24-hour hotline provides all law enforcement immediate access to, and assistance and guidance from, the RCMP human trafficking coordinator in BC during human trafficking investigations.
In terms of enforcement, a team of investigators within the RCMP border integrity program in British Columbia has been identifying potential victims of human trafficking and are actively engaged in human trafficking investigations. This is a permanent team that will remain in place during and after the Olympics. They will continue with their ongoing efforts to combat human trafficking, proactively detect it, and monitor any human trafficking related issues within their investigations.
In June 2009 we reported that a threat assessment was under way. This assessment is nearing completion and was conducted to assess the situation in Canada, with a focus on international human trafficking. Its goal is to identify the criminal organizations involved in human trafficking, identify trends, and facilitate the exchange of intelligence among law enforcement. It will also provide law enforcement across Canada with a guide to further direct resources on this issue.
Notable proactive investigations exist throughout the Lower Mainland that have been geared to identifying and rescuing potential victims of human trafficking and that may or may not be directly related to an increase in human trafficking during the Olympics. In January 2009 information was received that a ring of human traffickers were increasing their operations throughout the Lower Mainland. However, it was not necessarily in preparation for the Olympics. The accused in this case will be charged on four separate prostitution-related charges as well as human smuggling.
Like most international human trafficking investigations, victim management proved to be an issue. Several victims returned to their home countries, while others no longer wish to appear in court. Without victims' testimony, charges of human trafficking were unlikely. Therefore, substantive charges of human smuggling, living off the avails of prostitution, keeping a common bawdy house, and procurement have been sought.
In March 2009 investigation commenced into a group of organized human traffickers operating bawdy houses throughout the Lower Mainland. While I'm not able to go into the specifics of this investigation, I can tell you that this investigation has a very specific strategic component set to identify any increase in human trafficking directly related to the Olympics.
There are as well other ongoing human trafficking related--