Mr. Speaker, last Friday, I held a round table discussion in my riding on the plague that is called human sex trafficking.
Alarmingly, Ontario has become a major hub for human trafficking, and even more alarming is that the victims are predominantly girls with an average age of 14.
Attending the round table were victims service providers; the Hamilton Police Service; and Laurie Scott, MPP, who introduced a private member's bill on this issue in the Ontario legislature. The attendees were unanimous that more resources and collaboration between all levels of government and police services was needed to combat this heinous crime.
I know the subject well. The largest human trafficking arrest and conviction in Canadian history took place not far from my home in 2012.
I ask all members of the House to work with local victims groups and police, and I call on the government to continue to make ending human trafficking a priority, as our Conservative government did in 2012 with legislation that has delivered tangible results.
Let us hope that there will be a thanksgiving in the not too distant future when no Canadian family will need to worry that their daughter has been lured into and lost to this horrible crime.