Translator: Ellen Maloney Reviewer: Denise RQ
"The True North strong and free."
We sing that line of our anthem with such confidence, don't we?
Almost assuming that freedom is a reality that all Canadian citizens possess.
But I'm here today to tell you that that, unfortunately, is not the case.
Often when you hear conversations about slavery,
you hear them in the context of history.
It's usually discussed as a past wrong;
something that we're really ashamed of, that we wish never happened.
But in recent years, we have come to find that the eradication of slavery
never actually took place.
In fact, there are more slaves on the planet today
than at any other time in our history.
That's including the time of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
That's a pretty sobering thought
when we remember the words of Dr Martin Luther King, Junior,
who referred to Canada as the "North Star" in their history and struggle for freedom.
Because today, Canada is actually a destination for human trafficking;
a destination for slavery.
This has largely remained a blind spot for us as Canadians.
Most Canadians couldn't tell you what human trafficking is,
what it looks like,
and the scale to which it is affecting us here at home.
This is a conversation that needs to be had.
Human trafficking refers to the recruitment, the harboring,
and the receipt of people against their will,
for the purpose of exploitation.
Global estimates place it anywhere between 10 and 30 million people
who are currently enslaved around the world.
Trafficking can look like sexual exploitation,
forced labor, child soldiering, domestic servitude, and so many other things.
While we can point to many examples around the world
of where human trafficking is happening
the sad reality is that it's happening here in Canada.
The RCMP estimates that there's anywhere from 800 to 1,200 people
who are being trafficked into, and within Canada, every year.
We know that right now
there are 56 trafficking cases before the courts,
involving at least 85 accused and 136 victims.
Of those victims, 26 of them are under the age of 18.
Of the cases we have found in Canada,
the majority of them involve
sexual exploitation as part of the sex trade.
One of the staggering realities about trafficking in Canada
is that the majority of victims are themselves Canadian citizens;
around 90%.
Because of the high demand for the sex trade,
it is a highly-lucrative business.
For example, one of the first convicted traffickers here in Canada,
had been trafficking a young girl from the age of 15,
until she turned 17 and a half.
In that two and a half year span, he made 360, 000 dollars
off of exploiting her for sex.
That's a six-figure salary, off of one girl.
Highly lucrative, highly dangerous.
But before 2006, there was actually no field
in our immigration department's database for tracking human trafficking cases.
So we don't have any idea of the trends of human trafficking before that time.
In recent years, our law enforcement and our policy makers have made strides
in developing laws and policies to protect us,
and to protect people here in Canada.
We still have a long way to go.
For example, there is currently no minimum sentence for human trafficking in Canada.
So we know that this crime exists,
and we've discovered the scale to which is it affecting us here at home.
The next natural question is, "What do we do about it?"
It's daunting, I don't know what to do; do I have a role in solving this problem?
We know the importance of prosecuting perpetrators,
and bringing traffickers to justice.
We know it's important for there to be protections in place for victims,
to be able to go through rehabilitation, and come back into the community.
But I argue
one of the most important parts of a fight is prevention.
What does it look like to actually prevent
human tracking from happening in the first place?
The first question when we talk about prevention is,
"What are the things that make people the most vulnerable,
or the most at risk to being trafficked?"
Because you see, human trafficking, while it is a crime in and of itself,
it is actually fed and supported
by a wide range of social struggles, and social problems that we have.
These are the things that would expose people to risk,
and expose people to being even more vulnerable to being trafficked.
So what are those things?
What are the things that exist here in Canada
that expose people to more risk of being trafficked?
We know that poverty is a significant factor.
People in need of money;
in search of a better job, a better life.
They fall prey to empty promises of traffickers,
who bring them to other cities or other areas,
and in that moment of weakness, they are taken advantage of,
and are trapped in a situation where they become exploited.
Did you know that Nova Scotia is referred to as a source province
for human trafficking in Canada?
What that means is, if you look at the cases of trafficking
in other provinces in our country,
a significant number of the victims of those cases
are themselves Nova Scotian.
Why is that?
We know that rural Nova Scotian youth are particularly vulnerable.
We've seen cases of young people being promised a better life,
the lure of a relationship,
a chance to get out of the situation they are in,
and they find themselves entrapped, and exploited, right here at home.
They never actually leave the borders of Canada.
The average age of recruitment for human trafficking victims is 12.
12 years old.
That leads to the next point;
there is a lack of education around this issue.
Young people don't know it exists, don't know it's a danger,
they don't know what the warning signs are,
don't know what the risks are.
This is something that needs to change
because there is a general lack of awareness in our public.
We don't know this is a problem,
we don't know that people are in slavery, here in Canada.
When we don't know, we're not pushing for change,
we're not pushing our politicians to make greater strides
to have more effective policies
so that we can actually see change in this area.
A lack of safe and affordable housing is another significant factor
that increases vulnerability to being trafficked.
There have been cases in the news
of homeless youth going missing off the streets of Halifax,
and being found again, months later, rescued out of trafficking rings.
Homelessness,
not having a safe place to sleep at night, not having anyone watching your back;
those people are even more vulnerable to being trafficked.
Hear me; this discussion of vulnerability is not about victim-blaming;
this is about understanding the context
in which human trafficking has been able to flourish
and continues to flourish around us.
Because I've just named a few of the societal struggles
that feed in to human trafficking.
These issues I've named are things we, as a culture, have largely ignored;
or we've dismissed as insignificant, or inevitable.
But in eliminating our blind spot, this blind spot of human trafficking,
it is imperative for us to understand what the vulnerabilities are.
This is not just a job for our law enforcement;
this is something that we, as citizens, and we as individuals can play a part in.
Because when we talk about eliminating vulnerabilities,
and combating vulnerabilities,
what we are essentially doing is placing value on people;
because a statistic is just a number, until you meet the one.
Until that number becomes a face,
and you realize we're talking about brothers, and sisters,
and nieces, and nephews.
These are people who, in a weak moment,
in a moment of low-income, low self-esteem, whatever it might be,
are taken advantage of,
and are being exploited, here at home,
while we largely sit by, ignorant that it's even happening to begin with.
Because, you see, this isn't necessarily about fighting a big, ominous enemy,
where we stand, dumbfounded at the task.
This is about you and I, looking around us, and saying,
"What is in front of me that I can do?
What is in front of me I can care about and I can make a difference in?"
What would it look like if every single one of us
decided to defend our communities?
What would it look like if we took ownership?
If we made the effort to get to know our neighbours,
made the effort to get to know what issues are actually plaguing our community?
Who are the people that are most at risk?
And how can I get involved in bringing about change,
and bringing about solutions
that can protect people from human trafficking?
This is, by no means, an easy fight,
and I'm not pretending this is an easy solution.
I am saying that we, as individuals, do have a role to play
in ending this injustice;
this injustice that we thought ended a century and a half ago.
It is unacceptable for it to be going on today.
There is a role for us to play;
human trafficking is a crime that is happening here at home.
I wanted to come and speak with you today to issue a call to my fellow Canadians;
a call, that there's not enough time for us to sit by passively
while people are being exploited;
not when there are solutions at hand,
not when we live in a country where our anthem sings about freedom.
It's unacceptable, and it can't go on anymore.
Because we need to believe that when we defend the freedom of others,
we are defending the freedom of ourselves.
And isn't that what Canada is all about?
"Oh, Canada, we stand on guard for thee."
(Applause)