Maria Mourani

[The Criminal Code, January 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. Given that we often work together on the issue of human trafficking, I would like to congratulate her on what she has done to improve the Criminal Code regarding this matter.

If I understand the question correctly, how these people operate can vary greatly, depending on whether they belong to a street gang, are a member of organized crime, or are even independent traffickers who have absolutely nothing to do with any criminalized groups. They always manipulate the victim, often through modelling agencies. Sometimes they go and recruit the girls directly at night clubs or in schools, anywhere, really.

Things happen in stages. First there is the honeymoon period, when the criminal tells the victim that she will make lots of money, that he is there for her, that he loves her. She might even believe that her abuser is actually her boyfriend. It is very complicated. Then there is the breaking-in period, when she is beaten, raped by 15 men in a row in a seedy apartment. The abuser tortures her and takes away her ID. All of this happens not in some other country but right here in Canada. The victim is sexually assaulted. Her family is threatened and she is told that if she escapes, the abuser will get her little sister.

I have met many victims. People involved in these trafficking rings have told me their stories. I will never forget the car on its way from Montreal to Quebec City with a 12-year-old girl in the back seat and a 16-year-old girl in the front. Four years later, that 16-year-old, now 20, told me that she could hear the 12-year-old crying in the back because they were on their way to Quebec City to live in a seedy duplex where criminals kept the people they forced into the industry.

Let us never forget one thing. The reason 12-year-old kids are being sold in Quebec is that men are buying. That is another problem we have to tackle. Members of Parliament must have the courage to deal with prostitution in Canada. We need a law—just one—stating that it is a crime to buy sexual services in Canada. I hope that the day will come when we have the political courage to attack the johns, because if there are no johns, there will be no prostitutes.

[The Criminal Code, January 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for this excellent question.

Unfortunately, for the past five or six years in Quebec and Canada, street gangs have been becoming more and more involved in trafficking in young girls. Those groups used to recruit girls to dance in biker bars or to sell them to organized crime, but now these gangs have trafficking networks across Canada. These networks are very present in Niagara, an area I know very well. These networks no longer need biker gangs or the mafia for escort agencies, massage parlours or street prostitution. Their child prostitution networks are so sophisticated that it is basically their trademark.

Some gang members do nothing else. They no longer sell drugs. They do only that, because it is extremely lucrative and it is really hard to gather enough evidence to lay charges against them.

For instance, in the RCMP's most recent report with the latest figures, it clearly states that the first charges for human trafficking in Canada were laid by Peel Regional Police in 2008. That was the first time. Yet human trafficking has existed in the Criminal Code since 1995. But the first charge was not until 2008 by Peel Regional Police. That is unbelievable.

[The Criminal Code, January 29th, 2013]

moved that Bill C-452, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (exploitation and trafficking in persons), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, after a number of years of work and consultation, it is a great honour for me to introduce in the House Bill C-452, which seeks to help victims of human trafficking obtain justice in an environment in which they are better protected.

This bill also seeks to help the police officers and prosecutors who are working to combat this new form of slavery—let us say it—get the tools they need to lay charges and ensure that criminals are given sentences that reflect the seriousness of their crimes.

I would like to thank the individuals and groups who worked with me to put this bill together, including police officers from the SPVM morality branch and child sexual exploitation unit, criminal lawyers from the Barreau du Québec and women's and human trafficking victims' advocacy groups, such as the Comité d'action contre la traite humaine interne et internationale, Afeas, the Regroupement québécois des centres d'aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel, Concertation-Femme, Concertation des luttes contre l'exploitation sexuelle, the Association québécoise Plaidoyer-Victimes and Maison de Marthe. These groups were very involved in the drafting of this bill.

I would also like to thank everyone else who has supported this bill, namely the Collectif de l'Outaouais contre l'exploitation sexuelle, the diocèse de l'Outaouais de la condition des femmes and, of course, the Conseil du statut de la femme du Québec.

Before introducing the bill, I would like to quickly describe human trafficking in Canada. Unfortunately, it is a rather significant problem in Canada and also in Quebec.

There is no question that, in Canada, an estimated 80% to 90% of the victims of trafficking are destined for the sex trade. There are also victims exploited for forced labour in Canada. This is quite atypical, but it does exist nevertheless.

Canada is unfortunately considered to be a country of recruitment, destination and transit, transit to the United States in particular. The most popular cities are Fort Lauderdale, Miami, New York and Las Vegas, as you can imagine. Canada is also considered a tourist destination: not just the usual tourism, but also sex tourism.

Contrary to what one might think, this sort of thing does not happen only in developing countries. Criminal Intelligence Service Canada indicates in its 2001 report that, in Canada, the average age of entry into prostitution is 14. In Canada, the majority of victims of trafficking are women between the ages of 12 and 25.

According to 2004 figures from the U.S. State Department, every year an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 persons are victims of trafficking from Canada to the United States. It is estimated that traffickers bring approximately 600 women and children into Canada to service the Canadian sex industry.

The main points of transit and destination for victims of interprovincial and international trafficking are Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. The Sûreté du Québec estimates that 80% of the strip clubs in Quebec under its jurisdiction are owned by criminal groups, often under fronts. So this is an industry that is dominated by organized crime and, unfortunately, street gangs.

Girls recruited in Atlantic Canada can wind up in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta or British Columbia, and vice versa. They are on the move. That is typical of human trafficking. Although this odious trade is dominated by organized crime, street gangs have become new players in recent years. The Montreal police service has declared human trafficking to be one of its priorities in the fight against crime.

It is thought that since the end of the 1990s, street gang members have transitioned from small-time recruiters to high-level pimps, specializing in child prostitution of young girls, mostly between the ages of 11 to 25. A girl can bring in around $280,000 a year, depending on her looks and age. Twenty girls could bring in around $6 million. That is a lot of money.

This is a business with little risk and is inexpensive to manage. Most of these guys say that they just have to beat, rape or torture the girl or give her some drugs and she will go to the meeting on her own. As it stands right now, the punishments are insignificant. For example, a pimp in Peel region exploited, tortured and raped a 15-year-old girl for two years. This earned him about $360,000 a year and he was sentenced to three years.

This bill would bring justice to the victims and make it easier for police officers and prosecutors. What does the bill do? Many prosecutors and police officers I spoke to told me that, in general, human trafficking was seen as an international phenomenon and that people were trafficked either from Canada to other countries or from other countries to Canada. Unfortunately, the Criminal Code is misinterpreted.

This misconception is gradually disappearing, but there are still some people who believe it. Young people from the regions of Quebec or from aboriginal reserves across Canada are unfortunately ending up in trafficking rings that bring them to large Canadian cities and tourist areas such as Niagara Falls or Montreal during the Grand Prix.

Domestic trafficking definitely happens in Canada. In my opinion, it accounts for a significant proportion of criminal activity in Canada. Victims of this type of human trafficking are between 14 and 25 years of age. The bill before us improves subsection 279.01(1) by making it clear that human trafficking is not only an international phenomenon, but also a domestic one. I have added the phrase, “Every person who, in a domestic or international context, recruits, transports...” This clarification will ensure that individuals, police officers and prosecutors understand exactly what that section means.

The current section 279.04 includes provisions on trafficking in organs and forced labour. As we all know, most human trafficking is for purposes of sexual exploitation, and as such, I added subsection 279.04(1.1), which is specifically about sexual exploitation. This definition, if I can call it that, is drawn from the Palermo protocol on human trafficking and international crime, which Canada ratified on May 13, 2002. This addition addresses all aspects of sexual exploitation, thereby enabling Canada to fulfill its Palermo protocol commitment.

On another note, human trafficking and procuring offences are often associated with other violent crimes. However, even when several charges are associated with a particular incident, traffickers often get away with short sentences because they are served concurrently. Unfortunately, sentences for human trafficking are softer than sentences for drug trafficking.

This is despite the fact that these people, whom I would call slavers, commit very serious crimes. Victims are tortured, confined, raped, forced into prostitution and so on. It is important to take all of the factors related to an incident into account. This bill would ensure that sentences for human trafficking or procuring and associated crimes are served consecutively.

The other problem that police officers and prosecutors have raised is their ability to help or persuade a victim to testify. Those practising in this area of the law often find that victims do not want to testify. Why? Because they are experiencing severe post-traumatic stress and are, quite naturally, afraid of being victimized. Many groups that work with these victims have told me that the victim should no longer have to bear the burden of proof.

Subsection 212(3) of the current Criminal Code already includes the notion of reversal of the burden of proof in cases of procuring. The same reversal of the burden of proof for the offence of trafficking was therefore added to this bill in subclause 279.01(3).

Therefore, as soon as the police have enough proof to lay charges, they will not necessarily need a victim's testimony. The reversal of the burden of proof exists for procuring. I believe that it should simply also be applied to human trafficking.

My favourite part of this bill deals with the forfeiture of proceeds of crime. Unfortunately, it is well known in the policing world that human trafficking is very profitable. It is profitable because a girl can bring in a lot of money for a pimp and it is highly unlikely that she will file a complaint against him. The pimp does not need to manage anything or make large purchases to run the business. So the pimp makes a lot of money.

Currently, subsection 462.37(2.02), which deals with forfeiture of proceeds of crime, allows for criminally obtained goods to be seized in cases of criminal organization offences punishable by five or more years of imprisonment and offences under section 5, 6 or 7 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

I feel that human trafficking and procuring offences should also be covered by this section. This bill adds those two provisions to section 462.37.

To conclude, I would like to ask my colleagues to do something meaningful for victims of human trafficking. We need to remember that we do not need to go to Thailand to see children as young as 12, 13 or 14 in this business. And, unfortunately, we cannot forget that adults are victims of this business as well. The majority of the victims of this business—if we can call it that—are women, young girls and children. I feel it is more a form of slavery. I believe that we need to rise above partisan politics on this issue. It is our duty to strengthen the human trafficking provisions of the Criminal Code.

I would like to thank the members, and I ask them to support this bill in the name of justice and, above all, in the name of humanity.

[Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, January 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have been listening very carefully to the various speeches on this bill and I would like to come back to the crux of the problem.

Wanting to deport dangerous criminals is one thing. However, they have to be caught first, regardless of their status—whether they have Canadians citizenship or not, whether they have a visa, and so on. In order to catch them, whether they belong to a gang or are involved in organized crime, it takes money.

Why does this government want to cut funding for police recruitment? For the Eclipse squad in Montreal, for instance, which specializes in fighting street gangs and violent crime, these cuts will likely cause its demise.

Before they can be deported, they have to be caught first.

[Aeronautics Act, December 12th, 2012]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-468, An Act to amend the Aeronautics Act (agreement with provincial authority).

Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago, on March 27, 1969, Jean Marchand, a minister in Pierre Elliott Trudeau's government, officially announced the expropriation of a parcel of land as big as the island of Laval to build an international airport.

Ottawa kicked out 3,000 families. We are talking about an area of 39,255 hectares to build the Mirabel airport on the most productive arable lands in Quebec. What became of this airport? It has been stripped of all commercial flights and passengers, who were ironically transferred to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport. Since then, the people of Ahuntsic have been forced to endure aircraft noise.

Another era, another city. Neuville is a community of men, women and children who have created an excellent quality of life for themselves over the years. They have also had rules to protect their land. Developers created a company for the purpose of building a private airport on land in Neuville. They had to comply only with federal regulations and were then able to get around the fact that the land they had chosen was protected agricultural land. They also disregarded municipal zoning and the regional county municipality's land use rules.

Can a population be stripped of the right to control its own land? No. I am introducing this bill, which would amend the Aeronautics Act, so that the Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the location of airports only with the approval of a province.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[National Police Officers Recruitment Fund, December 11th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, in June 2007, Canada had over 344 street gangs with about 12,000 members in 166 urban and rural centres and aboriginal reserves. Those numbers are not getting any lower.

In Quebec, there are about 50 major street gangs with over 1,250 members. The vast majority of them are in Montreal. The magnitude of the problem has led to the creation of four joint squads in Quebec City, Gatineau, Laval and Longueuil, as well as the establishment in Montreal of the Eclipse squad, which is made up of 46 police officers. This represents a $92 million budget over five years for Quebec, including about $37 million for Montreal, the epicentre of the street gangs phenomenon.

At a time when Montreal's criminal world is in turmoil with the return of the Hells Angels, the Mafia's internal war and the driving ambition of street gangs, this government found a way to eliminate the Eclipse squad.

Ridicule never killed anyone, but it can hurt a lot.

[Public Safety, December 10th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, following a meeting with the director general of the City of Montreal police service, I was informed that the Eclipse squad, which specializes in fighting street gangs in Montreal, was likely to be disbanded because its funding of $35 million from the police officers recruitment fund was going to end.

Last year alone, the 46 Eclipse police officers made 540 arrests, including two for murder, and 42 weapons were seized.

This expertise will be lost. Furthermore, this is a disaster waiting to happen for public safety in Montreal, especially since the city with the highest number of street gangs is Montreal.

Will the Minister reverse his decision to eliminate this funding, as the National Assembly and the police forces have asked?

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 6th, 2012]

With regard to untendered renovation and construction contracts at the Montréal-Trudeau Airport for which the airport requested a ministerial exemption, from 2000 to 2012, for each contract awarded: (a) which companies were awarded the contract and carried out the work; (b) what documentation was made available to these companies; (c) what costs did the airport charge these companies; (d) are there security protocols between the airport and these companies; (e) what are these security protocols; and (f) what justifications did the airport provide the department to be entitled to an exemption from the requirement to issue a call for tenders?

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 6th, 2012]

With regard to the public tendering of renovation and construction work at the Montréal-Trudeau Airport and any other public tendering at the Montréal-Trudeau Airport, from 2000 to 2012, for each public tender: (a) which companies submitted bids; (b) which companies were awarded the contract and carried out the work; (c) what documentation was made available to the companies in the public tender; (d) what costs did the airport charge companies in order to have access to the public tender; (e) are there security protocols between the airport and the companies that submitted bids and did not receive contracts; and (f) are there security protocols between the airport and the companies that submitted bids and were awarded contracts?

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 6th, 2012]

With regard to the business relationships maintained by Aéroports de Montréal (ADM): (a) with the company Construction Gastier inc., from 2005 to 2012, (i) did it receive contracts from ADM, (ii) what was the value of the contracts, (iii) were the contracts tendered or was a ministerial exemption required, (iv) if there was a ministerial exemption, what were the grounds for it, (v) is there a security protocol between ADM and Construction Gastier inc. on all contracts awarded; and (b) with the company Construction Gastier international, from 2005 to 2012, (i) did it receive contracts from ADM, (ii) what was the value of the contracts, (iii) were the contracts tendered or was a ministerial exemption required, (iv) if there was a ministerial exemption, what were the grounds for it, (v) is there a security protocol between ADM and Construction Gastier international on all contracts awarded?