Justice committee  No, there are cases proceeding before the courts, but I am unaware of any charter challenges being brought in relation to either section 279.01 or the definition.

Justice committee  We are aware of none.

Justice committee  Yes, there are mandatory minimums in subsections 212(2) and 212(2.1), and currently there are no mandatory minimums in any of the trafficking offences in the code. If, for example, you had a case involving a young person under the age of 18 who had been trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, the crown and police would basically have an option of going with one or the other, potentially, depending on the facts, depending on what's provable in court.

Justice committee  There are five convictions under the trafficking-specific offence—that is, under section 279.01. In my opening remarks I discussed trafficking-related offences, offences that cover certain activities that are engaged in by traffickers. The other convictions fell under those provisions.

Justice committee  Just to make it absolutely clear that I have presented the correct evidence before this committee, there are five convictions under section 279.01 to date, all the result of guilty pleas. The few number can partially be explained by the non-retroactivity of criminal laws. This law was enacted in November 2005.

Justice committee  Yes. It is our view that we are in complete compliance with all of our international obligations—first and foremost, the UN protocol on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, which establishes various obligations, including criminalization. We do have, as I've referred to today, a solid body of criminal laws that address trafficking in persons.

Justice committee  Thank you for your questions. I will attempt to answer each one in turn. First, regarding convictions, we have to remember that section 279.01 was enacted in 2005. As we all know, criminal laws do not apply retroactively. Secondly, there have actually been five convictions so far under section 279.01, all as a result of guilty pleas.

Justice committee  Thank you for the opportunity to provide the committee with some general information on the existing criminal law addressing trafficking of persons as well as the implication of Bill C-268, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years), which proposes to impose a mandatory minimum penalty of five years for the offence of trafficking in children.