Correspondence

Letters Regarding Human Trafficking

Posted by Shawn on February 28, 2013

Dear Mr. Zimmer, MP:

We are Canadian citizens who want to see human trafficking end in Canada and abroad. We have looked at Canada's National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. In it it says: “The Government of Canada will build on current efforts to bring traffickers to justice and to strengthen the criminal justice system's responses to this crime.” We are pleased to hear this. How is this commitment being carried out and what specifically is being done this year, 2013, to bring traffickers to justice?

Human trafficking remains one of the most serious crimes in our nation. It must be vigorously opposed. Human trafficking violates public morals and Canadian values. Those ensnared in this lifestyle cannot wait for bureaucratic reform but rather need justice immediately. 

The Canadian spirit has courageously forwarded other great causes. The time has come for our country and our government to forward this great cause of freeing trafficked humans. With sustained pressure being placed on the trafficking industry, we can see it topple. Strong leadership from our government can end the suffering of millions of people.

Thank you for realizing the seriousness of this issue and for doing all that you can to bring human traffickers to justice in our great land.

 

Sincerely,
Shawn and Ramona Stevens

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Dear Mr. and Mrs. Stevens,
 
Thank you for your correspondence regarding our Government’s National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking.
 
Canada’s National Action Plan, with participation from 18 federal departments, is a comprehensive blueprint to guide the Government of Canada’s fight against the serious crime of human trafficking. The National Action Plan will:
 
  • Launch Canada’s first integrated law enforcement team dedicated to combating human trafficking.
  • Increase front-line training to identify and respond to human trafficking and enhance prevention in vulnerable communities.
  • Provide more support for victims of this crime, both Canadians and newcomers.
  • Strengthen coordination with domestic and international partners who contribute to Canada’s efforts to combat human trafficking.
These new measures totaling $25 million over four years build on and strengthen Canada’s significant work to date to prevent, detect and prosecute human trafficking, such as targeted training for law enforcement officials and front-line service providers, and enhanced public awareness measures.
 
As part of this federal initiative, our Government recently unveiled a new awareness campaign targeted at Canadian youth. More information regarding the “I’m Not For Sale” campaign can be found at: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ht-tp/index-eng.htm.
 
To keep up-to-date on the implementation of Canada’s National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, I encourage you to visit Public Safety’s Human Trafficking webpage, and more specifically its news release section at: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/le/ht-tp-eng.aspx.
 
Again, thank you for taking the time to share your concerns.
 
Sincerely,
 
Bob Zimmer
Member of Parliament
Prince George-Peace River

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Dear Mr. and Mrs. Stevens: Thank you for your email. Since your names do not appear on our current database of Crowfoot residents, I would appreciate knowing your address within the riding of Crowfoot.
 
I agree that that human trafficking is a very serious issue, and I have long supported my colleague Joy Smith, MP for Kildonan-St. Paul, for the remarkable amount of work she has done to fight human trafficking and strengthen the punishment for this offense. A tough new law has been passed to deliver mandatory minimum  sentences to those convicted of human trafficking.
 
Our Government  introduced the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act and it was given Royal Assent on 28 June 2012. .
 
Our doors are open to immigrants to Canada who follow the rules and wait in line, but we have no tolerance for those who abuse our generosity or cheat the system to jump the queue. 
 
Under the new measures introduced through the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, the Minister of Public Safety is able to designate the arrival of a group of persons in Canada as an “irregular arrival”, and make those involved subject to the Act’s measures. This includes preventing people who come to Canada as part of a designated irregular arrival from applying for permanent resident status for a period of five years.  They would also be unable to sponsor family members to join them in Canada during that time. 
 

In December 2012, Minister Kenney travelled to Stanstead, QC, to comment on the designation of five groups of foreign nationals as “irregular arrivals.” All five groups crossed at the border that runs right through the towns of Stanstead, QC, and Derby Line, Vermont. Minister Toews today made the designations under the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act.

Human smuggling is a dangerous and despicable crime - it puts lives at risk and threatens the integrity of Canada’s immigration system as well as the security and safety of Canadians.

This designation sends a clear message to criminal organizations contemplating human smuggling ventures that Canada will take strong, targeted action to prevent abuse of our generous immigration and asylum systems.
 
The measures also:
 
  • Make it easier to prosecute human smugglers, introduce mandatory minimum sentences, and significantly increase fines for those convicted;
  • Establish mandatory detention of irregular mass arrivals to allow for the determination of identity and admissibility of migrants and any other investigations;
  • Ensure that the medical benefits received are not more generous than those received by the average Canadian; and
  • Allow for the termination of the refugee status of individuals who no longer require protection — for example, should they leave Canada to return to their country of origin and re-establish themselves or should country conditions change so they no longer need Canada’s protection.
Again, thank you for letting me know of your concern with this problem in Canada and around the world.
 
Sincerely,
 
Kevin Sorenson, MP
Crowfoot
1-800-665-4358

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Dear Mr. MP:

 

We are Canadians concerned about human trafficking in our country. We have learned that Sweden had a law passed in 1999 that prosecutes those who buy sex from a prostitute. Other nations such as Norway and Iceland have also adopted similar legislation. We would like to see this kind of legislation adopted in Canada.

 

Our government has sought to address sex trafficking in a courageous way. However it is possible to go after traffickers while at the same time ignoring the critical involvement of the purchaser. Why does our legal system not prosecute those who buy sex from a prostitute? We believe that there should be zero tolerance of those who use prostitutes. If the buyer was removed from the equations sex trafficking would end. Sadly thousands of Canadian citizens don't seem to care that they are victimizing a woman or child when they engage in sex from a prostitute. This is where we need a response from the Canadian legal system and from the Canadian government to attack this issue from its root.

 

Legislation such as what has been adopted in Sweden holds purchasers accountable for the enormous harm that they are inflicting on victims. We agree that purchasers should be held morally responsible for their part in this terrible crime. It is our understanding that Sweden has seen success in combatting sex trafficking as a result of these new legal measures. It is time for Canada to follow suit and attain similar victories in our needy land.

 

Thank you for considering Canada's adoption of legislation that would prosecute purchasers of sex.

 

Sincerely,

Shawn and Ramona Stevens

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Dear Mr. MP:

 

Hello, we are Canadian citizens who want to see our government fight human trafficking. We have seen in the Canadian National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking the government's intention to: “Partner with international organizations and foreign governments to increase capacity to prevent and combat human trafficking” and to “Use diplomatic engagement to promote regional and international partnerships and policies in areas of the world particularly vulnerable to human trafficking”. This is exactly what we want to see our government do. How much progress has our government made on these objectives this year, 2015?

 

Around the world people are violently brutalized on a daily basis within the sex trafficking industry. Their lives are being crushed by another person's greed. Canada cannot walk away from the injustice of human trafficking. Human trafficking treats people, especially women and children, like disposable property.

 

It is our hope that collaboration with foreign governments and other organizations will result in trafficked persons being freed around the world. It is also our hope that the diplomatic efforts of Canadian officials will also zero in on the problem of police corruption, that plays a role in some of the human trafficking industry.

 

We would ask that you would use your influence to further stir up the political will within our own country's government as well as foreign governments to battle human trafficking. Thank you for looking into what is being done on this important issue.

 

 

Sincerely,

Shawn and Ramona Stevens

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Dear Mr. MP:

 

We are Canadian citizens who are concerned about human trafficking in Canada. We have learned that an Ontario appeal court has struck down a ban on brothels. We believe that legal brothels undermine efforts to end human trafficking. Brothels should be illegal because of the harm that is done to women and children in them. We need the government to get involved in outlawing brothels. This is one area of our society that badly needs reform. Inside the walls of legal brothels women and children are suffering and some have even lost the desire to live.

 

Our legal system goes after human traffickers, however by operating a brothel, traffickers circumvent the law. We must close all legal loopholes in the human trafficking industry. The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, of which Canada is a signatory, says that human trafficking occurs when someone receives, transports, harbours, transfers or recruits people for forced labour or sexual exploitation.

 

We believe that this very crime is carried out within the walls of legal Canadian brothels. It is time for the Canadian government and the Canadian legal system to go after human trafficking wherever it is found and to close the loopholes that traffickers exploit. We believe that those who operate massage parlours and escort services should be investigated as part of the effort to defeat human trafficking. Often these businesses are simply fronts for sex trafficking operations.

 

Thank you for considering taking action to outlaw brothels in our great country of Canada.

 

Sincerely,

Shawn and Ramona Stevens

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Dear Mr. MP:

 

Hello, we are Canadians who have looked at the government's National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. In this plan the government has proposed to:

  • Promote training for front-line service providers

  • Support and develop new human trafficking awareness campaigns within Canada

  • Provide assistance to communities to identify people and places most at risk

  • Distribute awareness materials at Canadian embassies and high commissions abroad

  • Strengthen Child Protection Systems within the Canadian International Development Agency's programs targeting children and youth

Is the Canadian government as committed to these goals as when they were first drawn up? Are these goals being worked towards and being practically attained? It is important to raise public awareness to the atrocity of human trafficking in our country. It is even more important to strengthen the hands of individuals, organizations and agencies that are effectively protecting women and children, and battling human trafficking.

Human trafficking is unacceptable anywhere but especially in a country like Canada that values human freedom. Our government needs to take a leading role in sounding the cry that women and children are not commodities to be bought and sold. This type of crime should never be tolerated or condoned.

Please comment on the progress that our government has made in this crucial area and on its commitment to fight for human freedom.

 

Sincerely,

Shawn and Ramona Stevens

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Dear Mr. MP:

 

We are Canadian citizens who have written to you before appealing for the government to battle human trafficking. We have seen your National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. Inside of it the government has committed to invest six million dollars annually to fight human trafficking. We would like to see the government increase this amount, to expand their efforts and to address the magnitude of the problem in Canada. We believe that fighting human trafficking should be considered one of our nation's foremost endeavours.

 

Innocent people fall into human trafficking, many having been tricked into it. Their freedom is taken from them and they are controlled by others. Women and children are exploited for profit and live with shame and misery. As a direct result of their sex slavery many contract HIV. It is time for Canada to aggressively attack and defeat the human trafficking industry in our country. We need stronger laws and stronger enforcement of those laws to break the back of human trafficking in our land.

 

Victims of this crime usually lack the resources and the means to free themselves from their abusers. We want to see the Canadian government bring hope and freedom to victims of human trafficking. Investment in this cause is money well spent. Thank you for your consideration.

 

 

Sincerely,

Shawn and Ramona Stevens

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Dear Mr. MP:

 

Hello we are Canadian citizens who want to see human trafficking dismantled in Canada. One of our concerns is that this crime be treated with the maximum penalty at the judicial level. In the government's National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking it says that Canada is involved in training judges and prosecutors on human trafficking in Peru. This is good, but we wonder what initiatives are being done to train our own Canadian judges and lawyers on this crime and on the latest legislation concerning it.

 

We understand that at least one European nation brings in specially trained prosecutors to handle human trafficking cases. Can we hope to see something like this in Canada? Human trafficking must be beaten and stopped. Canadians across this country are proud of many aspects of our free society. However human trafficking is an affront to the values that we hold as Canadians.

 

Human trafficking is a criminal enterprise that victimizes vulnerable individuals. It often targets the economically disadvantaged and the most vulnerable among us. It can be found in both our urban and rural communities. We would like to see as much done as possibly can be done at the judicial level to defeat human trafficking in Canada.

 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Sincerely,

Shawn and Ramona Stevens

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Dear Mr. MP:

 

Hello, we are Canadian citizens who want to see human trafficking end in Canada. We have seen the government's National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. It states: “The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will develop and coordinate specialized training for police officers through the Canadian Police College and will add human trafficking awareness to its cadet training curriculum.” It also says “In order to improve operational collaboration and coordination, federal agencies such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Passport Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and Human Resources and Skills Development will work to develop and enhance partnerships with law enforcement at the municipal, provincial, national and international levels to improve information and intelligence sharing so that traffickers can be detected, investigated and prosecuted.” We applaud these efforts. Has this specialized training been created and is it being presently taught to our mounties? How have the efforts to enhance partnerships between the agencies listed above been realized? What progress can you comment on for this year, 2013?

 

Human trafficking in our country is a secret national tragedy. It humiliates both the foreigners and Canadians that it victimizes. We want to see our Canadian police force, Canadian Border Services and Immigration Canada fully trained and fully prepared to battle this heinous crime.

 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

 

Sincerely,

Shawn and Ramona Stevens

Abortion

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