Status of Women committee  Absolutely. If I could make a recommendation, it will take time—and I agree with my Vancouver counterparts—to build trust between the police and them. We're looking at time. But in the meantime, there are victims out there. One recommendation the government could follow through

Status of Women committee  We have a good rapport with some of the agencies in Toronto that help kids primarily, and some of them will alert us to those problems. They will volunteer the information, meetings will be set, and we will meet these young people. Some others don't want to; again it's a matter o

Status of Women committee  Absolutely.

Status of Women committee  You asked me about the three-month permits for victims.

Status of Women committee  I am not saying that everyone should be denied a visa. Visas would only be denied to those whom we know have been recruited in their country of origin for purposes of prostitution. Those people should not be able to enter the country.

Status of Women committee  I will give you an example of something that happened in Toronto. A club owner travelled to the Philippines to recruit women. It was clear, from the photos that we saw, that these women were not simply dancers. In cases such as that one, a visa should either include a number of r

Status of Women committee  The people who come here are not necessarily all sex trade workers. I am sure that there are worthy candidates who have something good to offer the industry, but if their stock-in trade is sex and prostitution, the visa should be denied.

Status of Women committee  That is not what I am saying at all. If there is evidence that these women are being exploited for these purposes, then there should be no permits allowed.

Status of Women committee  If you're going prosecute these offenders for these serious crimes, for prosecution purposes you need to have your victims come to court. That's why I'm recommending that the permit be extended for court purposes--not to the discretion of anybody, but for court purposes--until th

Status of Women committee  That's the main problem when you identify the victims--what do you do with them? They have to be housed, and right now there's nothing in place. As resourceful as we are usually, we will find some accommodation, but it will be on a short-term basis. However, there are security

Status of Women committee  All right. I want to talk about what's available in terms of protection for the victims. The witness protection program in Ontario will look after the victims; however, the immigration status will have to be handled by the federal authorities. I've been advised that the federal

Status of Women committee  The three-month reflection permit should allow an extension for court purposes. The court trials can last up to two years. What do you do with the victims in the meantime? Work visas for the entertainment industry should be abolished where there is evidence to show the victims we

Status of Women committee  Good morning. Thank you for having us here today. The focus of the presentation will be the challenges that we face at the local level in terms of enforcing and prosecuting human trafficking offences. According to statistics released by the RCMP, it is estimated that over 2,000