Status of Women Committee on March 23rd, 2023

[Sarah Hayward]

Yes. They were all victims.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

How many of them were there?

[Sarah Hayward]

In 2022, we issued 155 VTIP TRPs.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Out of those 155 victims, how many perpetrators were arrested?

[Sarah Hayward]

I can't comment on that, because that would not be our department.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Ms. Levman, can you give us a number on how many perpetrators, of the 155 victims, were either convicted or arrested?

[Nathalie Levman]

All I can do is refer you back to the human trafficking juristat, which provides the numbers for both accused and victims.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

I'm a little—

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

I'm going to interrupt.

Can you make sure that we are linked to that juristat? We don't have that access. Can you ensure that this committee gets that information? We have zero numbers right now, so we need that information.

[Nathalie Levman]

I will ensure that it is sent to you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you so much.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Thank you. I will move on to my next question.

You mentioned a website that has a lot of information. Would you say that from this website, you can gather information of perpetrators and victims?

What I'm trying to get at is that any police officers I've spoken with—and I'm going to be attending a forum back home—are telling me that the numbers are increasing. The victims are increasing, and the perpetrators are increasing.

If we don't have numbers, how can we attack the problem? How can we fight this issue, so we can protect our young people and protect the citizens of this country?

[Nathalie Levman]

I understand that Statistics Canada officials are to come before you in April. I'm very happy to send you the juristats. It would be worth your while to take a quick read through them before they arrive.

You can ask them all of these questions. They may have more information than we do.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

My next question is for Crystal.

You mentioned funding to help these victims. I'm not sure if you've come across a young lady by the name of Timea. She was denied funding for a program where she was able to assist 300 victims and over 500 human trafficked individuals.

Why would she not continue to have funding if she has such a successful program which helps these victims?

I don't know if you heard the question. Do you need me to repeat it?

[Crystal Garrett-Baird]

Could you repeat it, please?

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Timea Nagy is an individual who has helped in over 500 human trafficking investigations, and she has been cut off from funding. Can you tell me why?

[Crystal Garrett-Baird]

Women and Gender Equality Canada does not provide frontline services. We provide support and funding to civil society organizations to enable them to support individuals and at-risk groups.

I don't have any details with me of the case you're referencing.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you so much.

We're going to pass it over to Jenna.

Jenna, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Kanata—Carleton, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you very much to the witnesses who have joined us today.

I'm going to start with Ms. Levman with a very basic question to ensure a clear understanding.

What are the punishments under the Criminal Code for human traffickers?

[Nathalie Levman]

I assume that you mean what the penalties are in the code.

There are technically six offences. There's a main trafficking offence, and that has a maximum penalty of 14 years or life, depending on whether aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault or kidnapping was also committed. That bumps it up to life. There are mandatory minimum penalties of four years and five years, depending on whether it's 14-year max or life.

Then there is a child-specific offence, section 279.011, and the maximum penalties are the same. Obviously there's no higher penalty than life. The mandatory minimum penalties are slightly higher: five years and six years.

There's a material benefit offence. That offence has a maximum penalty of 14 years when the victim is a child and 10 years when the victim is an adult. When the victim is a child, there are mandatory minimum penalties.

There's a documents offence for withholding or destroying documents for the purposes of facilitating trafficking. It doesn't matter if the documents are valid or forged. That offence has a 10-year max when the victim is a child, with a mandatory minimum penalty and a five-year max when the victim is an adult.

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Kanata—Carleton, ON]

Thank you for clarifying that and laying that out for us.

What must prosecutors prove in order to get a conviction for human trafficking?

[Nathalie Levman]

That was part of my introductory remarks.

They need to prove the act element, which is recruiting, transporting or harbouring someone, and they need to prove that the act element was done for the purposes of exploiting the victim, meaning that the person doing it is the one exploiting them or for the purposes of facilitating their exploitation by someone else. It captures a very broad range of conduct.

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Kanata—Carleton, ON]

Thank you very much.

I have a bit more specific question around sharing of or threatening to share intimate images, or sextortion. We know that this has become more of a phenomenon. It is on the rise and has absolutely devastating impacts for victims. I am wondering what steps have been or could be taken to address this growing crime.

[Nathalie Levman]

Do you mean in the context of human trafficking?

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Kanata—Carleton, ON]

Yes.