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House Hansard - 82

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 6, 2022 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 82 - Jun/6/22
Mr. Arnold Viersen (Peace River—Westlock, CPC)
  • Jun/6/22 6:58:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am rising today to follow up on the question I asked last week in regard to Ukraine and the increase in sex trafficking of women and girls. I pointed out that during the war and conflict, women and youth are often at increased risk of exploitation. The U.S. “2021 Trafficking in Persons Report” notes that Ukraine has been a long-time source country for human trafficking victims. It states: [T]he conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia's occupation of Crimea have displaced more than 1.4 million people, and this population is especially vulnerable to human trafficking throughout the country....Traffickers reportedly kidnap women and girls from conflict-affected areas for sex and labor trafficking in Ukraine and Russia. Traffickers target internally displaced persons and subject some Ukrainians to forced labor on territory not under government control, often via kidnapping, torture, and extortion. This report was from one year ago, before Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Now that millions of women and youth have fled Ukraine, we know that human traffickers have been targeting them. I asked the minister what specific steps the government was taking to ensure that Ukrainian women and youth seeking refuge in Canada are not being trafficked or exploited. I appreciate that the Minister of Foreign Affairs agrees with the gravity of the situation, but I was disappointed that the only step she could commit to was raising it further with her G7 counterparts. Canada is welcoming Ukrainian refugees to Canada. For sure there are traffickers looking to take advantage of this. We know that traffickers have already been trying to recruit women and girls from the refugee camps along the borders of Ukraine. Further, once in Canada, unaccompanied minors are especially vulnerable to sex trafficking, so as Canada opens its arms to these women and youth seeking shelter, how is it ensuring they are not being lured or forced into sex trafficking? In Poland they receive flyers. Do Ukrainian refugees to Canada receive any sort of information warning them about sex trafficking or exploitation in prostitution when they arrive? Is it in their own language? Where do they go if they know they need help? Canada's national human trafficking hotline is 1-833-900-1010. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is available in Ukrainian. I am appalled that there does not seem to be any process in place to flag potential cases of sex trafficking. My other great concern when it comes to fighting sex trafficking is that the government ignores one of the most important parts, which is the demand, the sex buyer. Sex trafficking exists only because there is a demand from sex buyers. With the significant number of displaced Ukrainian women and girls, the demand from sex buyers for them has increased. For example, Ireland's largest escort website offers sex buyers the opportunity to live out their “war-inspired fantasies” with Ukrainian women and reports a 250% increase in interest for Ukrainian women. Valiant Richey, the OSCE special representative and coordinator for combatting trafficking in human beings, warned, “In some countries the spike [in online searches for buying sex from Ukrainian women] was as much as 600 per cent...there was an immediate interest in exploiting them.” An example he gave is from a recent operation in Sweden, where of 38 sex buyers who were arrested, 30 were attempting to access Ukrainian women specifically. However, unlike in Sweden, the Liberal government refuses to tackle the demand from sex buyers. As a result, sex trafficking and gender-based violence increases. Therefore, I ask the government what steps it is taking to ensure that Ukrainian women and girls seeking refuge in Canada are protected from exploitation and sex trafficking.
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Context: House Hansard - 82 - Jun/6/22
Hon. Robert Oliphant (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lib.)
  • Jun/6/22 7:02:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I sincerely want to thank the member for Peace River—Westlock for raising this issue, not only in question period recently, but regularly and in an ongoing way. I think he is making a profound difference by raising the issue with gravity and with sincerity, and also by bringing to light the horrendous situation faced by women and girls and others who face the risk of trafficking every day. Together we deplore Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the vulnerabilities that it has created, with millions of people displaced internally and millions of people who have fled the country and sought refuge in countries all around Europe, with a small number of them coming to Canada. The member is right in his assertion that these people, and women and children particularly, are extremely vulnerable to sex traffickers and other traffickers who would take advantage of their plight. Should more be done? Yes, but let me talk about a few of the things that we are doing. We have been in discussions with our G7 partners and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to coordinate actions. In Europe, we have been engaged in exactly the kind of work he was talking about, working at placing protective measures at border crossings, distributing information pamphlets, establishing hotlines and continuing to find ways to decrease the risk for trafficking in persons. We are, however, concerned that the longer the Russian invasion continues, the more vulnerable refugees will become to exploitation and abuse as they possibly take riskier housing options or transportation routes. We believe that we need to constantly have gender-responsive, victim-centred, trauma-informed and age-appropriate measures and techniques, including protective services, to combat this evil. To this end, the Government of Canada is supporting initiatives that are aimed at preventing human trafficking at the borders, as well as working with the Government of Ukraine and local NGOs to provide such important information. As an aside, I was in Chicago on the weekend. I was in a restroom in a restaurant that had a large sign on the mirror, reminding people that if they sensed someone was being trafficked or if they themselves were being forced or exploited in any way, they should call that line. I want more of that in Canada. I think the member has been raising the importance of this issue, and I think the government could continue to do more. Today I was reading a report from the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence, Pramila Patten, who just today was speaking on the crisis in Europe, which is turning into a human trafficking crisis and, I would say, a nightmare. She called for a coordinated, coherent system of working with other countries, and just as the minister said in question period in response, she said that we need to do more. That needs to happen in Canada. It is happening in Canada as we continue to support hotlines and as we continue to support the human trafficking hotline, which is a national confidential service and which does in fact have interpretation in Ukrainian for anyone who needs it. These are the kinds of things that we want to do, but we need to heighten the awareness around the world. Every Canadian needs to be vigilant. Everyone who is helping a Ukrainian refugee or visitor come to this country needs to be aware they are vulnerable, and we need to take our place. Again, I want to thank the member for raising the issue.
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