Thank you for your question. I'm glad to see you around this table again.
The majority of human trafficking crimes, about two-thirds of them, are reported from Ontario. Like many others in Ontario, this past Saturday we observed a day to learn more about human trafficking and empower those who are on the front lines, including survivors, to address and prevent this heinous crime.
The national human trafficking strategy was announced by my honourable colleague, former public safety minister Ralph Goodale, last summer. It is a comprehensive strategy. It is based on four pillars: prevention, partnerships, prosecution, protection. Then, it has an additional pillar, which makes it, I believe, one of the best plans internationally. That is the empowerment pillar.
I've heard from colleagues around this table, as we've heard from Canadians across the country, that once those who have been able to get themselves out of the system and are ready to get their lives back together to piece back what's been broken, significant wrap-around supports are needed. That empowerment pillar is part of what we are trying to do as a federal government to provide those supports and services.
The strategy invests significant dollars—it's fully funded—to empower victims and survivors to regain self-confidence and self-control, to prevent more of these crimes from happening, to better protect those who are vulnerable to trafficking, to prosecute traffickers and to embrace partnerships with provinces and territories and other organizations to maximize our impact.
Also, as of a few months ago, we appointed a new special adviser on human trafficking who is a retired RCMP officer. She is working to provide ongoing advice and recommendations to the federal government to bring awareness to human trafficking here in Canada but also internationally as well.
One of the questions I asked one of the front-line service providers was what it is that makes our daughters—overwhelmingly, it's girls and overwhelmingly it's indigenous women and girls—so vulnerable to human trafficking. What are they seeing in terms of trends?
She said that often for these girls, the first time they hear kind words such as, “I am proud of you”, or the first time someone shows interest in them, it comes from their trafficker. I have little girls in my life, as I'm sure many of you have, and hearing that sent chills down my spine.
All this is to say that it is preventable. It is complex. Canada has a plan. We are working with our domestic and international partners.
I welcome any work by this committee. I know that several members have expressed interest in helping to enhance our existing initiatives around human trafficking.