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Justice committee Good morning. Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto would like to thank the members of the committee for inviting us to make submissions regarding this bill. ALST, the acronym we use, is a multi-service legal agency serving Toronto's aboriginal community. Our only clients are abo
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee Obviously, we don't take the same position that the other friends and colleagues here have. We would say simply that in applying equality, it should work both ways, regardless. However, we don't see them in that same position in every circumstance.
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee Mr. Chair, to the member who has asked the question, it's not a simple answer, so I will try to keep it as concise as possible. There are a couple of things. You had stated that we already have trafficking laws. We do actually already have trafficking laws, and if you go to Stat
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee Okay.
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee Mr. Chair, if I could address the member's question, yes, I agree with your characterization. I don't believe it meets the constitutional muster, as it's currently drafted. In fact, it basically does the same thing. People will rely on the preamble, or they'll say things. But wh
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee Mr. Chair, if I could address the member's question, a direct answer would be that parts of it are fundamentally flawed. The reason they're fundamentally flawed is in relation to the mandatory minimums that exist and actual charges that exist, because things like exploitive relat
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee With respect, I would disagree. Minister MacKay also said that, and relied on, the $20 million that has been so notoriously discussed through these meetings about not being enough. His response was that, in addition, there is the legislative monetary response and that they would
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee Yes, the Canadian that assisted with the development of the Swedish legislation.
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee I am going to reference only the UNDRIP, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Interestingly, and I don't have time to get into it, there is a whole level of autonomy and self-governance, and a lot of models. It's one thing to say to respect it, but
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee Yes, in response to that, article 279.01, which you were talking about, is actually a provision that allows for the prosecution of human trafficking. Interestingly, when we've done research on it to understand what the differences are...because what we're hearing from a lot of wi
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee Mr. Chair, if I can answer the member's questions, they are very good questions. Thank you for asking them. Yes, we do represent only aboriginal clients. Some of them are sex workers. Do we keep statistics on that? No, because we meet our clients where they are at. We allow our
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee That would be our opposition to the bill, that the criminalization—
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee Yes, because of the adverse impact it will have on sex workers. The adverse impact it will have on sex workers is the driving of the most vulnerable, the street-level sex workers or survival sex workers, into darker corners or into places where they become unsafe. Contrary to w
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee The only example I can give that I think everyone will know is Pickton, in Vancouver. When police were not prosecuting communications as long as prostitutes weren't in certain parts of town.... When you know where to find the sex, in industrial sections or down dark alleys or dif
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe
Justice committee Mr. Chairman, if I may answer the member's question, it's not a constitutional override per se. The Gladue principle is derived from another provision in the Criminal Code. The Supreme Court of Canada enunciated it first in Gladue, and then reiterated more recently in Ipeelee in
July 10th, 2014Committee meeting
Christa Big Canoe