Status of Women committee  I don't think I can give you a comprehensive answer to your question, Madam Chair, but we've talked about the Dutch rapporteur, so one has to remember that in Holland, for instance, human trafficking is defined exclusively in terms of sexual exploitation and does not include other forms of exploitation, as the Canadian law does.

Status of Women committee  The rapporteur is not the full solution; it is one element. Definitely you need a coordinating mechanism, and you probably need two. You need a coordinating mechanism at the operational level within the federal government, because several agencies are involved; and you also need federal-provincial coordinating mechanisms when it comes to dealing with these issues, particularly when child victims are involved, because a lot of the issues, or services and so on, are dealt with or provided by the provinces or are their responsibility.

Status of Women committee  I cannot give you names of people you should consult, but I think it would be very wise to try a pilot study in one municipality, one region, or one province of the country, and to try to address some of those issues you talked about earlier, issues of privacy. It's not just federal privacy laws; it's provincial privacy laws, child protection laws, and a whole bunch of other things.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Ms. Demers. Madam Chair, in the case of the Netherlands, the annual budget is in the order of...

Status of Women committee  In the case of the Netherlands, the annual budget totals 450,000 euros. One has to remember that this is a small country with a unique police force. The budget for a similar operation in Canada would be much higher. You've raised a very important point, Ms. Demers. A national rapporteur is only one of the components of a national strategy.

Status of Women committee  Thank you for that question. I agree that it would be possible. What is most important is not whether it's an independent structure but whether the function is independent. In fact, in the Netherlands the rapporteur is located in the Ministry of Justice, and it is supported by a bureau.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. We already have a national coordination centre as part of the RCMP. If the task at hand was simply to collect police data, certainly they would be able to do that, but one must remember that in all countries, particularly in Canada, very few cases come to the attention of the police.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon. I'd like to thank the committee for inviting me to come back and talk about some of these issues that we'll be discussing today. I was glad to learn that the committee had decided to spend some time reviewing some of the issues that are associated with the gathering of information and reporting on the national situation with respect to human trafficking.

Status of Women committee  There's one more important reason. If we want to counter their problem, prosecute, and go after that form of organized crime, victims have to come forward. They have to cooperate with law enforcement and do all of those other things. Unless you protect them and help them, there is no way they're going to be able to do that.

Status of Women committee  Absolutely. But there is also a link between that and the entertainment industry, and between that and the berry industry where I come from. There are many links, but that is the crucial one, as was pointed out earlier. The data we currently have, however faulty, seems to indicate that is one of the principal forms of exploitation that leads to human trafficking.

Status of Women committee  People who are vulnerable for economic reasons can be exploited, but people are vulnerable in many other ways. Sometimes they're vulnerable because they're not very bright. Sometimes they're vulnerable because they're overly ambitious. There are all kinds of reasons why people are vulnerable or make themselves vulnerable.

Status of Women committee  I don't know the extent to which it is supported. It also receives support from the Government of British Columbia, although not to the same extent.

Status of Women committee  I don't know all of the details of the support. I'm a senior associate. I do not manage the centre, but I do know that there's still support available to the centre through, I believe, the Department of Justice Canada.

Status of Women committee  I think that is something to be considered. First of all, creating the possibility of offering them temporary residence for a few months is already a step in the right direction. A mechanism has to be found to enable us to know whether such people are actually victims or not. If we open the doors wide and say that anyone who declares herself a victim is welcome in Canada, there will be a flood of people wanting to immigrate illegally to Canada who will declare themselves victims.

Status of Women committee  Our value is that we help other agencies and groups in Canada bridge and make relationships with people in other countries. Our ability to work in different countries, participate in policy development processes at the international level, conduct research, and so on, makes the centre a resource for others.