Thank you very much.
Greetings to all members of the committee.
My name is Daniel Anson, Director General, Intelligence and Investigations, Canada Border Services Agency.
I will only take a few minutes to clarify for the committee the Canada Border Services Agency’s role and responsibilities in identifying and combatting international human trafficking.
As this committee is aware, the administration and enforcement of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, IRPA, falls under the responsibility of several government departments and agencies.
While Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has the primary responsibility to develop admissibility policy which sets the conditions for entering and remaining in Canada and to administer the IRPA, the CBSA shares responsibility with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for enforcing the IRPA. In the pursuit of its mandate, the agency shares information and intelligence with other government departments and law enforcement partners, as required.
More specifically, the CBSA prevents, identifies and interdicts suspected human traffickers in the cross-border movement and exploitation of victims; detects instances of trafficking, including those for the purposes of forced labour; contributes to the safety and security of potential victims by separating them from the control of suspected traffickers and refers them to appropriate government services; and supports the investigation and prosecution of offenders.
The CBSA and RCMP have a complementary approach in relation to immigration offences. While the RCMP is responsible for immigration offences related to organized crime, human trafficking and national security, the CBSA has responsibility for the remaining immigration offences under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or IRPA, which includes offences related to human smuggling, fraudulent documents, misrepresentation and the “General Offences” section under the act. The agency will engage the RCMP should it discover indicators of human trafficking while investigating other offences. The CBSA refers all suspected human trafficking cases to the RCMP for investigation, and it refers potential victims to IRCC for support.
As human trafficking and human smuggling are often confounded, I thought I would use this opportunity to differentiate the two offences.
On one hand, human trafficking occurs when one party violates another's rights by depriving them of their freedom of choice for the purpose of exploitation. It can occur across and within borders, and it may involve extensive organized crime networks. It involves recruiting, transporting or harbouring individuals through force or other forms of coercion and deception. For example, these victims may be exploited for the sex trade, forced labour or domestic servitude.
Human smuggling, on the other hand, is a form of illegal migration that involves the organized transport of a person across an international border, usually in exchange for a sum of money and sometimes in dangerous conditions. When the final destination is reached, the business relationship ends and the smuggler and individual part company.
A person who has agreed to be smuggled into the country, however, may also become the victim of human trafficking at the hands of the smuggler. What is consistent is that the relationship between a human trafficker and victim is continuous and extends beyond the border crossing. Victims may suffer abuse from the traffickers and face severe consequences if they attempt to escape.
Since 2012, the CBSA has been working with federal partners to implement the national action plan—now strategy—to combat human trafficking. As part of this commitment, CBSA officers receive training to recognize indicators associated with victims of human trafficking and provide them with support through referrals to the appropriate government agencies.
Despite best efforts, however, identifying victims of human trafficking at the border can be challenging. Potential victims may be unaware of what is in store for them beyond their entry into the country. Furthermore, if they do not know they are being exploited, they may be intimidated and refuse to seek or receive help.
The CBSA takes the issue of international trafficking of women, girls and gender-diverse individuals very seriously. Situations such as sexual exploitation and domestic servitude disproportionately affect these populations. Some estimates indicate that roughly 90% of victims of sex trafficking in Canada are women and girls. Human traffickers reap large profits while robbing victims of their freedom, dignity and human potential.
The CBSA is an active and engaged partner in combatting human trafficking by detecting and disrupting trafficking operations and the transport of victims to Canada. We continue to work with our partners with the common goal of preventing Canada from being a destination, source or transit country for this criminal behaviour.
This concludes my opening statement. Again, thank you for the opportunity to highlight the agency's role and impact. I will be very happy to answer any questions from the committee.
Thank you.