Mr. Speaker, I know our time has almost run out, but I appreciate the opportunity to add to this debate. I strongly support the motion.
The trafficking of human beings into our country for the purposes of sexual exploitation is a grave and growing threat to our nation. It is difficult for some of us to wrap our minds around the idea that slavery could be alive and well in a country as civilized as Canada. Sadly, it is true. In fact, the RCMP has identified Canada as a transit point and destination for those who traffic in people, and the targets are usually women and young girls.
When we talk about trafficking, we are talking about the recruitment and transportation of human beings for the purpose of exploitation, usually in the sex trade. The secretive nature of this horrific crime makes it difficult to measure the extent of the trafficking industry in Canada, but one thing is clear. We are dealing with a multibillion dollar industry that knows no borders and has no conscience. Its size and scope is second only to the global drug trade. We in Canada, as a free and democratic nation, have a duty to vigorously oppose this vile form of enslavement wherever it exists. To do anything less would be an abrogation of our responsibilities as caring and just human beings.
This really hits home in my home province of British Columbia. We intend to host the 2010 winter Olympics. From our experience with the most recent World Cup in Europe, there was a boom in the prostitution trade. When the 2010 Olympics come to Vancouver and to the province of British Columbia, from where are many of these girls and young women going to come? They are going to be coming from those human traffickers who are exploiting these women for their own purposes.
I will wind up by saying that today's motion speaks to the dignity of human life. It speaks to the right of each human being to live without fear of oppression. It is also about us accepting the responsibility to care for others who, whether by circumstance or otherwise, find themselves in the clutches of the most vile predators.
Today I add my voice in support of the motion. May we all seize this opportunity to do something really significant for our country.