Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thirty to forty years ago, I could walk down Yonge Street in Toronto and spot girls selling their bodies. Only God knows who was making them work in the wee hours of the night in the dead of winter.
Madam Chair, the times have changed. We live in a digital world where demand for girls comes instantly on the phone and the girls are supplied by the perpetrator to men who now demand girls of the ages of 12 and 13 be sent to them. This is all done behind closed doors.
Little girls who are not even teenagers are being supplied to meet the demand of men seeking girls younger and younger each year in our country. Canada, once seen as a beacon of safety and opportunity, is now grappling with the problem of human trafficking and being labelled as the hub for human trafficking.
Consider the alarming statistics: In the three years between 2019 and 2022, over 1,500 calls were made by 2,170 victims of trafficking to a hotline dedicated to those calling for help. A staggering 67% of calls from victims of human trafficking came from Ontario alone, and 90% of those calls were from women and girls. This is the province where many newcomer youth settle.
However, human trafficking happens all over Canada. This is mainly due to a lack of awareness among the very young and vulnerable. They start their lives here with desperation to find jobs. They struggle to pay rent, which is unaffordable, and to meet the expensive cost of living in Canada. Young people face financial difficulties every day. They do not want to go back to their home countries for various reasons. Here in Canada, they are facing the “frying pan into the fire” syndrome, making them vulnerable to labour and human trafficking as well as constantly fighting against the cost of living.
These girls are lured by perpetrators who pose as loving and caring boyfriends. Catching the pimps is very tough as they are active on social media, which is heavily used by very young people.
Human trafficking is a lucrative business and cannot be stopped. It can be reduced considerably by making young girls aware of the reality and how the system works. At Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women, we have done so, and the youth we serve are now volunteers in the community who do well in schools, respect their parents, strive to complete their studies and seek employment. They are aware of the luring done by perpetrators posing as boyfriends. They are also aware that passwords and banking information are not to be shared with anyone. It has proven to work at a micro level and needs to be expanded to a macro level across Canada.
The laws are weak in Canada. The perpetrators are aware and take advantage of that and continue to reap enormous profits at the expense of our young female population, taking away their dignity and well-being. They're getting away with this because they are allowed to do so.
To properly address this epidemic, we must strike at its root cause, which is the lack of awareness among our youth and parents regarding the true nature of human trafficking. The illusion of glamour surrounding human trafficking can be shattered starting at the school level, where, with federal government intervention, children from grade 6 onwards learn at the start of school lessons every morning for half an hour to 45 minutes, with interactive discussions and stories on topics that could make them responsible citizens.
There is an urgent need for making targeted intervention programs mandatory in the school curricula in our education system, particularly in regions where trafficking activities are most prevalent. Basic human studies are lacking in our education system. This is also the reason we see a strong prevalence of domestic violence: Many mothers have been torn away from their children, who are put into foster homes that are also breeding grounds for human trafficking.
By equipping our youth with knowledge and awareness, we can disrupt the supply chain of victims and pull the exploitation activities out by the root.
What should schools add to the curriculum? Schools should offer frank discussions on the realities of trafficking, including its techniques and methods of recruitment and how traffickers have taken full advantage of the tools that are out there now, such as social media, immigration desperation and promises of housing, education and high-paying employment. We must make kids aware that pimps are actually everyday men and women we would never suspect; that society unwittingly trusts human traffickers disguised as employers, consultants, agencies, etc.; and that the Internet and social media also play a role.
Madam Chair, education alone is not enough. We must also tackle the demand side of human trafficking by enforcing strict penalties for those who fuel this trade. Social network advertising must be outlawed and perpetrators held accountable immediately for their actions. We must provide comprehensive support services for survivors, including skilled trades training and mental health resources to aid in their recovery and reintegration into society as skilled tradespeople. Additionally, we must remain vigilant in scrutinizing foster homes and other care facilities that can unwittingly become breeding grounds for exploitation.
In closing, Madam Chair, let us remember that the fight against human trafficking is not one we can afford to lose. Exploitation should have no place in Canada. Elected leaders should take cognizance of this horrible problem, reminding them that every problem has a solution.
Thank you, Madam Chair.