Conversation Series Trafficking in Persons

Transcription

1 Conversation Series 18 INTRODUCTION On March 31st, 2004, Metropolis facilitated a meeting on behalf of the Interdepartmental Working Group on (IWGTIP) 1. The event, a half-day, closed-door discussion of trafficking issues, was funded by the Departments of Justice Canada and Status of Women Canada. Representatives of non-governmental organizations, academics engaged in the field and federal policymakers talked about various elements of a potential anti-trafficking strategy. The objectives of the meeting were, first, to increase dialogue between members of civil society and policymakers about trafficking in persons to Canada and, second, to generate new ideas about collaborative responses to human trafficking that would draw on the strengths of both government and nongovernment actors. In order to achieve its purposes the conversation followed the Chatham House Rule to provide for free discussion and exchange among participants. Accordingly the remarks are not attributed and the identities and affiliations of the participants are not revealed in this report. This report includes a background introduction to the IWGTIP followed by summaries of the discussions on international trafficking to Canada; trafficking for the sex trade; trafficking for forced labour (including domestic workers); directions for future research; and further engagement of civil society. As this was the preliminary exchange between the IWGTIP and the NGOs, no attempt was made to reach consensus or to make recommendations. This report, which is not as an official position paper of the government of Canada, is a summary of the conversation and is made available to facilitate stakeholder dialogue Context p. 2 International Trafficking p. 3 Sex Trade p. 4 Forced Labour p. 5 Research Directions p. 7 Collaboration Suggestions p. 7 Conclusion p. 8 About Metropolis Conceived in 1994 and launched in 1996, the Metropolis Project strives to improve policies for managing migration and diversity by focusing scholarly attention on critical issues. It involves policymakers, researchers, and NGOs in project initiatives. Metropolis goals are to: Enhance academic research capacity; Focus academic research on critical policy issues and policy options; Develop ways to facilitate the use of research in decisionmaking. Metropolis encourages communication between interested stakeholders at the annual national and international conferences and at topical workshops, seminars, and roundtables organized by project members. A consortium of federal departments and agencies funds five academic Centres of Excellence that are in turn closely linked to federal, regional and local stakeholders. The consortium includes Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canadian Heritage, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Status of Women Canada, Statistics Canada, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, Justice Canada, and the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada. At the beginning of the Project Four Metropolis Centres of Excellence were established: those Centres were Immigration et Métropole (IM) in Montreal, the Joint Centre of Excellence for Research in Immigration and Settlement (CERIS) in Toronto, the Prairie Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration (PCERII) in Edmonton, and the Research on Immigration and Integration in the Metropolis (RIIM) in Vancouver. In January 2004 a fifth Centre of Excellence was established in the Maritimes, the Atlantic Metropolis Atlantique (AMA), co-located in Halifax and Moncton. Collectively the Centres involve 19 lead universities and several hundred affiliated researchers, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Find out more at: 1 For more information please visit the IWGTIP website at Metropolis Conversation Series 1

2 Context The IWGTIP was originally formed in order to co-ordinate Canada s position in the negotiation of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish, especially Women and Children and the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, both of which supplement the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. After negotiations and following Canada s becoming a State Party to these agreements, the IWGTIP turned its focus exclusively to the Trafficking Protocol. It continued to meet to discuss how best to enhance implementation of the Trafficking Protocol. Its commitment to information sharing and collaboration can help to explain Canada s speedy attention to its Protocol commitments to prosecute traffickers via a reform of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) as well as bilateral agreements for law enforcement and intelligence collaborations. The IWGTIP has initiated several activities that aim to address the prevention and protection aspects of the Protocol. For example, it oversaw the production of an educational pamphlet and poster campaign that warns potential victims of the risk of trafficking in 14 languages. They are now being distributed internationally through Canadian missions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) abroad. The IWGTIP has also developed an antitrafficking poster being distributed throughout Canada. Recognising the multi-faceted nature of the human trafficking phenomenon, 15 federal government departments are represented on the IWGTIP. Educational initiatives with Canadian officials have been undertaken. On March 8-9, 2004, the Department of Justice Canada, in conjunction with the work of the IWGTIP and in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), organized a training program for Canadian immigration and law enforcement representatives. The session brought front-line officials together to discuss trafficking in Canada and to dialogue with international experts on the issue. Developing working relationships with a range of NGOs has also been a strong focus of the IWGTIP. At the international level, the UN High Commission on Refugees and the International Organization for Migration have been collaborators. The Canadian Council for Refugees has collaborated at the national level along with a range of national and local NGOs that work on such diverse social issues as sex work, labour issues, violence against women, and immigration and refugee services. The IWGTIP has received an official government mandate to develop recommendations for a comprehensive federal anti-trafficking strategy. In the opinion of the IWGTIP, there should be five pillars to any such strategy: 1) Prevention & Awareness-raising: Current prevention initiatives such as popular education about the risk of being trafficked are funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and implemented overseas in source and transit countries. There is a need to explore new ways to tackle this problem and to evaluate the effectiveness of current efforts, for example, feedback on the new pamphlet was invited and given 2. CIDA also funds multiple programs aimed at addressing the root causes of human trafficking. Participants raised the need to expand prevention activities within Canada. These would be directed at communities from likely source countries of trafficking victims to prevent victimization of their compatriots and at the general public to strengthen general recognition in Canada of the trafficking problem. Canadians believe that trafficking is not an issue in this country. Participants noted that without the support of the public, however, the anti-trafficking agenda is unlikely to move forward. Efforts to raise public awareness, such as Victor Malarek s book The Natashas, were cited as essential. 2) Protection & Assistance to Victims: The IWGTIP considers this a critical issue as well as the area most difficult to address. Protection is addressed under the UN Trafficking Protocol yet the federal government has limited jurisdiction to act since social and victim services fall under provincial authority. NGOs are seen as more likely to be effective in working with trafficking victims than government agencies. This leads the IWGTIP to believe that a tri-partite approach bringing together federal, provincial and NGO representatives will be necessary in order to develop an effective strategy for victim protection and assistance. 3) Prosecution of Traffickers: Canada has made significant headway towards this goal by enacting section 118 of the 2002 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that criminalizes trafficking in persons and provides for sentences that include serious fines and prison sentences. There have also been bilateral agreements to facilitate information sharing towards the prosecution of traffickers. 2 Participants congratulated the IWGTIP for their initiative with the prevention pamphlet and poster campaign, observing that they were visually striking and that they would be very useful in educating NGO workers, foreign government workers and Canadians working overseas to the danger of human trafficking and the fact that it is a serious crime in Canada. In order to reach potential victims of trafficking, however, it was felt that flyers with less writing, perhaps with a hotline number, in addition to public awareness campaigns via radio, billboards, etc., would be more effective. 2 Metropolis Conversation Series

3 At present, the Criminal Code includes many offences that could be used to prosecute traffickers: kidnapping, extortion, sexual assault, prostitution and organized crimerelated offences. The Department of Justice is currently reviewing the provisions of the Criminal Code to assess whether a specific human trafficking offence is required therein to complement the current offence in the IRPA. One bill being developed by the Department of Justice would facilitate the testimony of victims. 4) Data Collection & Research: To date, the lack of firm data on human trafficking has hampered efforts to address the phenomenon. The obvious clandestine nature of trafficking, as well as the range of government agencies that may encounter it, makes it extremely difficult to gather reliable empirical data on the incidence or detailed nature of trafficking to Canada. The IWGTIP hopes to improve government tracking of human trafficking cases as well as collaborate with academics for further research. 5) Partnerships: The government considers that enhanced collaboration with other governments, with the Provinces and Territories and with Civil Society is very important in the ongoing development and implementation of an anti-trafficking strategy. International Trafficking to Canada The participants discussed federal policies that address human trafficking, sharing information about their current state of development before turning to suggestions for policy improvement and gaps in the available research. The UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Trafficking in Person Protocol serve as useful tools for federal policymakers and civil society advocates. As mentioned previously, Canada has relied mostly on IRPA, and the Criminal Code, to comply with the requirements of these international agreements. Significant headway has been made, particularly in terms of migration and border control, but other countries, such as the United States, Australia and some members of the European Union, have gone further in addressing the various aspects of human trafficking. Many challenges remain. In particular, participants raised the tension that exists between exercising Canadian sovereignty over its borders and the human rights of migrants. Federal policy issues related to international trafficking Trafficked persons who enter Canada on legal visas. IRPA provides tools for dealing with the perpetrator in trafficking cases that involve smuggling or false documentation, but it is silent on the issue of dealing with people who enter Canada on legal visas and who are clearly only trafficked, that is 'under the control of a third party,' once they are within the country. There are interrelated jurisdictional issues between law enforcement agencies. Visa programmes that could be used to advantage by traffickers include Student or Temporary Worker visas (especially Entertainer) and the Live-In Caregiver Programme (LCP). Spousal sponsorships can also be used for forced marriages. Potential criminalization of trafficking victims. Trafficked victims could be charged under the IRPA with false document, and other offences. Canada as both a country of destination and of transit. In addressing human trafficking in Canada, it must be remembered that Canada is not only a country of destination where trafficking victims are exploited in the Canadian sex trade, by Canadian industries and in Canadian homes, but is also a country of transit, overwhelmingly as a stepping stone to the United States. This heightens the need to collaborate with American officials in addressing human trafficking. Money and resources spent on enforcement. Participants raised the issue of the federal government being more willing to invest in the law enforcement and prosecution aspects of human trafficking than in prevention and protection. The relative impact of this type of spending on the phenomenon of trafficking is not clear. While some participants believed that it would be more effective to invest in prevention and protection, others argued that law enforcement was the first area of investment since human trafficking is so directly linked to organized crime. Undesirability of linking protection of victims to the prosecution of their traffickers. Most European countries, Australia and the USA, provide temporary legal immigration status to victims of trafficking conditional upon their participation in the prosecution of their traffickers. Canada does not have an official mechanism for conferring status on trafficking victims specifically. While some participants argued that Canada should adopt a similar visa scheme for trafficking victims, others argued that there are ethical problems linking victims' status to their participation in the prosecution of the traffickers. In addition, concerns were raised that cooperation with law enforcement may put victims and their families at risk. Prevention as a macro-economic and political issue. CIDA already funds multiple programs intended to address the root causes of human trafficking in virtually all continents. Some indicated, however, that Canada must seek to improve the international economic inequality and geopolitical instability that is at the root of many victims vulnerability to being trafficked. Bilateral agreements with Metropolis Conversation Series 3

4 source countries could help to improve the effectiveness of initiatives such as preventative educational campaigns. Parallels with human trafficking internal to Canada. Participants discussed the relative merits of simultaneously addressing the concept of international human trafficking with the internal trafficking that often involves women and children from First Nations. The applicable legislation and the implications and vulnerabilities overlap somewhat but are also distinct. Addressing both domestic and international trafficking could be beneficial by raising the profile of these two forms of human rights abuse, improving their chances of securing political will for action. It could also help to separate the issue of trafficking from that of international smuggling; the latter is seen as an offence against the state and therefore a matter of national border integrity and sovereignty rather than as a human rights abuse that requires protection for its victims. A disadvantage is that it takes the focus off the role of immigration policies in contributing to international human trafficking. Difficulty of bringing human trafficking to government as a human rights issue. It was reported that it was difficult to convince the federal government to act on human trafficking as an international human rights issue. Some considered that the government holds the position that only states can violate human rights and that Canada is not complicit in human trafficking. Because of this, it has been easier to bring human trafficking forward as an issue of international crime. While this has led to some action, the protection and prevention side has been more difficult to achieve. There is a perception, however, that the human rights perspective is gaining some currency. Specific suggestions for legislation or policy reform Remove third party dependency from immigration programs. The dependency of the temporary worker, student and Livein Caregiver, as well as sponsored family members, on third parties can put migrants at risk of exploitation and, as a corollary, trafficking. Work and LCP visas will be treated below, but for student visas an alternative identified would be to link applications to a specific course of study (with relevant checks on authenticity) but then for the visa to be open (permitting work off-campus) for a specified length of time. Leaving studies for work could be permitted while the visa remained valid. Temporary visa holders could apply for permanent residency from within Canada and consideration of the fact that they are already productively engaged in Canadian society taken into account. Some participants claim that NGOs and research studies have shown numerous negative effects of the economic burden of family sponsorship. Some suggest that the economic aspects of sponsorship the requirement for sponsors to demonstrate their ability to support sponsored family members and the ineligibility of sponsored family members for income supports such as welfare and pensions could be dropped to allow family reunification under the same terms as families who arrive in Canada together as Independent or Economic Class immigrants. Offer Humanitarian and Compassionate permanent residency. Many were of the view that specific guidelines for conferring temporary status on victims of trafficking should be developed. Providing permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds for those who wish to remain in Canada was suggested as a way to protect the rights of victims and perhaps also compensate them for their exploitation within Canada, since that exploitation is usually to the benefit of the Canadian economy. This would require clear guidelines, with the proviso of passing the usual security checks and making allowances for the unavoidable criminal element of the trafficking experience. It was argued that this same principle could be applied to deal with the increasingly high profile issue of undocumented migrants within Canada who face deportation to precarious home countries but who do not qualify for regular refugee status. Trafficking for the Sex Trade The sex trade is one of the main destinations for trafficked women and children and it thus requires more specific consideration. Federal policy issues related to trafficking for the sex trade Criminalization of involvement in prostitution. The fact that prostitution-related activities are criminalized can be a barrier to trafficked women coming forward for help due to their fear of prosecution under the Criminal Code. Link between sex trade and organized crime. Trafficking for the sex trade has especially strong links to organized crime and is therefore a major law enforcement issue. Consideration of demand in destination countries. The male demand for the services of the sex trade is what drives the supply of trafficked women and children. This must be a consideration both in terms of prosecuting men who use illicit sexual services, especially when the woman 4 Metropolis Conversation Series

5 or child is trafficked and prevention by educating men in order to reduce the demand. Complexity of consent as a consideration. There was agreement that children could never be considered to have consented to being trafficked or to working in the sex trade, but the situation of women is more complex. It was reported that the concept of consent was one of the most contentious issues during the negotiations of the UN Trafficking Protocol. Some participants were of the view that individuals can only give their consent when they have other, viable options; they must have practicable choices. This rarely seems to be the case with trafficking. However, there was concern that presuming a lack of consent for sex trade work, albeit under difficult circumstances, effectively disregards the agency of the women involved. It was suggested that perhaps exploitation was a more useful term, as it could be determined according to legal and somewhat more objective standards. International dimensions of trafficking for the sex trade. It was noted by some that Canadian men encourage international sex trafficking by engaging in sex tourism in other countries. Currently this is illegal and they can be charged in Canada for their actions overseas. In practice this is hard to achieve and rarely applied. In terms of the military, however, this is an area of concern for overseas forces. The Canadian military has strict rules against sex tourism by its forces. Specific suggestions for legislation or policy reform Decriminalize prostitution. It was suggested that decriminalization of prostitutionrelated activities would help remove barriers to women seeking help and would help them avoid being revictimized, whether trafficked or not. Criminalize sex trade consumption. Another view was that prosecution of those who consume sex trade services would help deter demand without the criminalizing the women and the children offering the services. Engage in demand reduction. Public education, especially about the use of trafficked women and children in the sex trade, might reduce demand in source and destination countries. Monitor entertainer' visas. So long as exotic dancing is legal in Canada it is a legitimate reason to come to Canada as a temporary foreign worker. There is anecdotal evidence that temporary foreign worker visas for exotic dancing are used by human traffickers to bring women in for the sex trade. Some thought that efforts could be made to offer particular support and follow-ups with women who enter Canada on these visas. A toll-free hotline could be established. Some NGOs already offer such a service and could serve this specific population of migrant sex workers. International conflict situations. In international conflict settings, such as Kosovo and Bosnia, where it is the presence of international armed forces that has stimulated a local demand for trafficked sex workers, and the creation of brothels or prostitution caravans, sending countries must implement strict controls on their military forces. Currently members of the Canadian military face immediate return to Canada if caught using such services, but it is not clear whether this rule is enforced. Trafficking for Forced Labour Apart from the sex trade, victims of human trafficking experience forced labour in a variety of other sectors, including the garment, agriculture and food processing industries. Domestic labour is also an area of particular concern, especially because it is so hidden and often involves sexual abuse. Federal policy issues related to trafficking for forced labour UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers. Canada has not signed this Convention and participants urged further examination of this issue. Some expressed the view that Canada should be encouraged to sign the Convention. Federal responsibility for labour conditions of migrant workers. Although most jobs fall under provincial labour codes, the federal government s immigration policies have an impact on migrant workers ability to come to Canada and work under decent conditions. This responsibility is already in place, somewhat, through Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) being involved in confirming that employment of a foreign national will not adversely affect the employment of Canadians. However, HRSDC does not have a mandate to check on work conditions. Many victims of trafficking fall into precarious situations because they were seeking economic opportunities. Workers who cannot find legitimate ways into Canada may be vulnerable to being trafficked and the precarious (in terms of residency) and dependent (in terms of being "obligated" to a third party) status of temporary work visas Metropolis Conversation Series 5

6 for such purposes as entertainer or LCP make these processes possible avenues for trafficking. Temporary work visas. Canada has an interest in offering work visas in fields where there is a shortage of Canadian labour. Many temporary migrants are only interested in coming to Canada to work on a short-term basis and have no interest in becoming permanent residents; however, many other working visitors do have such an interest. Those on temporary work visas are also vulnerable because they are tied to a specific employer if the wish to remain in the country. The Live-In Caregiver Program. The LCP remains a popular program for migrants since it offers a quicker route into Canada with the possibility of becoming a permanent resident after two years work in the home of an employer. The live-in requirement is seen by some as highly problematic, however, since it leaves the domestic workers isolated and vulnerable to exploitation. Economic exploitation in terms of working unpaid hours and being on-call 24 hours a day is standard. Psychological, physical and sexual exploitation are also risks, particularly due to the fact that LCP workers are likely socially isolated and their status and eventual permanent residency are tied to successful completion of employment with a specific employer. The LCP is the only immigration program with such restrictive conditions as live-in, but also the only temporary visa that offers the automatic right to apply for permanent residence from within Canada after two years. Some participants see the LCP as legislated slavery which gives rise to situations of de facto human trafficking. The LCP is currently under review at Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Enforcement of labour standards. As mentioned above, most jobs fall under provincial labour standards but some argued that the federal government retains a moral responsibility for the work conditions of migrants who come under immigration programs. Some claimed that across Canadian jurisdictions, workplace inspections occur almost exclusively at the request of a worker. This provides little protection to migrants with precarious status in general and is particularly so for trafficked workers. Some claimed that the federal government must work with provinces to address this situation. Specific suggestions for legislation or policy reform UN Convention of the Rights of Migrant Workers. Some felt that pressuring Canada to sign this international convention would give civil servants and members of civil society further policy tools to address human trafficking and protect the rights of migrant workers in general. Reform of temporary work visas. Given that individuals who receive temporary work visas go through an application process that establishes the veracity of their job offer, the legitimacy of the need for a foreign worker, the workers qualifications for the job and the suitability (in terms of security, health, etc.) of the worker for travel to Canada, certain reforms of the temporary work visa could be effected that would reduce temporary workers vulnerability to exploitation without putting Canada at risk. For example, some thought that temporary work visas could be issued on the same basis as at present (see above), but without requiring them to remain with the same employer or the same exact field for the duration of the visa. If the application is genuine, they are likely to remain with the same employer, but they are able to leave if the conditions are exploitative without losing their authorization to remain in Canada. Employers unable to retain employees might feel pressure to change their labour practices and exploitative conditions might be brought to the attention of the authorities as a result of worker turnover. Similar to the current LCP, some considered that temporary workers could acquire the automatic right to apply for permanent residency from within Canada after two years of work. A proven ability to contribute to Canadian society would make acceptance nearly automatic. Victims of trafficking with temporary work permits might be more willing to seek help if they felt that they were more likely to be able to stay in Canada. Reform of the LCP. Some were of the view that the LCP could be abolished, placing domestic workers in the same category as other temporary workers, as in the previous point. The live-in requirement could be removed, given its problematic nature. Giving domestic workers the ability to change employers without changing visas would allow them to more easily leave exploitative situations and would put pressure on employers to better respect their labour rights. Again, for women who are trafficked via the LCP, such a reform would give them more options for seeking help and leaving the exploitative situation. Workplace inspections. It was argued that government-initiated workplace inspections, perhaps on the basis of NGO reports or police investigations, might help to uncover victims of trafficking as well as improve the working conditions of immigrant workers in general. Others expressed concern that such inspections might be used to identify and criminalize undocumented workers. This would pose barriers to the overall goal of improved working conditions for all, as it 6 Metropolis Conversation Series

7 would be a major disincentive for NGOs and individuals to report poor situations. Directions for research While those present agreed that we must continue acting in the present to address human trafficking, there was also agreement that we lack precise information about some aspects of the incidence and nature of human trafficking to Canada. Further research could help to ensure that our policy and program initiatives are appropriate and effective, based on hard data. Data coordination. At present, there is no coordination of the statistical data collected by various government agencies like Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), provincial social services and local police forces that would give a better picture of the incidence and nature of trafficking to Canada. Many agencies have no record-keeping mechanism to identify incidents of trafficking or suspected trafficking cases. The same is true of the data and statistics collected by NGOs. Many have information about human trafficking but it is not clear to whom such information could be passed along and whether this might cause en ethical dilemma. This could be clarified and more NGOs could be encouraged to collect such data. RCMP reporting. Some argued that the RCMP has to report publicly on human trafficking, with an estimation of the numbers of people trafficked and smuggled, both for policy-related research and to raise public awareness. Canada and US Safe Third Country Agreement. It was argued that the implementation of this agreement should be closely monitored in order to determine its impact on the incidence of smuggling and increased vulnerability to trafficking as migrants find clandestine ways to enter Canada. Links of legal visas to trafficking. This topic needs to be documented so that concrete policy reforms can be developed. Empirical and qualitative research on trafficking. Very few Canadian studies have explored the empirical and qualitative experiences of trafficking victims. This is difficult, clearly, due to the clandestine nature of the phenomenon and the risk to which research participants may be exposed. A new study is underway in Quebec that will reach trafficking victims working in the sex trade themselves, but there is a need for more such research across the country. A better understanding of the nature of trafficking and its impact on victims will improve our policymaking. Examination of the diverse manifestations of trafficking in source countries, the intended field of exploitation (sex work, agricultural, domestic, and the like), victimology, socio-economic links of trafficking within Canada, are all areas worthy of study. Suggestions for interagency and interjurisdictional collaboration As was noted at the outset, human trafficking is a problem that transcends the jurisdictions of the federal, provincial and municipal governments. Responses to human trafficking require collaboration at the international intergovernmental levels and with civil society. The representatives and agents of these various sectors must collaborate in order to be effective in the fight against human trafficking. Due to the limited time available the following observations were made without much elaboration. Discussion fatigue. Several NGO participants expressed frustration at participating in another of what they felt was a long series of discussions on human trafficking without enough being accomplished in practice, especially around prevention and protection. Moving forward on these points is, they feel, a matter of political will and the federal government and civil society actors could better coordinate their efforts in order to make trafficking a public priority. With the new official mandate for the IWGTIP, more concrete actions may be possible. Others pointed out that the issue of human trafficking is still foreign to the Canadian public and that awareness must be raised that trafficking exists in Canada before we can expect significant political will to act. Government NGO collaboration in this regard is highly desirable. NGOs are the most appropriate setting for services. Some government agencies may attract trafficking victims seeking help but victims are more likely to approach NGOs instead if they fear criminalization by the state or if they fear state corruption or collusion in trafficking, fears often based on experiences with corruption in source countries. NGOs also have access to sources of information from the grassroots that can be more difficult for the government to attain. NGOs already working in such fields as immigrant services, labour rights, health services and violence against women can help to serve trafficking victims if they have sufficient funding and access to training resources. Such Metropolis Conversation Series 7

8 services can be funded by both federal and provincial governments, as well as the private sector depending on the service, program or project. Sex workers, whether trafficked or not, are particularly wary of involvement with government agencies. There are already NGOs that offer services to sex workers in general. Specific services for trafficked sex workers are probably not necessary if NGOs are able to receive training about the immigration status and criminal network implications of trafficking. Difficulty of funding health services. Health services in particular are difficult to fund, as they require proof of health insurance or cash payments, neither of which are often available to trafficking victims. Some suggest that the federal government could perhaps institute a federal rate to pay for trafficked and other undocumented individuals to receive health care, similar to the federal health insurance offered to refugee claimants. This is critical for public health and from a human rights perspective. Increased funding for NGO pilot projects that will become programs. The departments participating in the IWGTIP can continue and expand their funding of pilot programs and help negotiate with provinces in order to turn these into social service programs. Collaboration with NGOs and academics in developing policy alternatives. Several NGOs and academics have already developed antitrafficking strategies that can be drawn upon by the federal government. For example, the Polaris Institute, the Future Group and the Stop the Trafficking coalition have all developed concrete suggestions for legislation and policy reforms that would help to stem trafficking. Conclusion This conversation took place at the beginning of the process to engage civil society in the elaboration of a comprehensive federal anti-trafficking strategy. Federal policymakers, NGO representatives and academics intend to continue their collaboration in order to ensure the inclusion of a broad range of perspectives and expertise within this strategy. The lack of resources available to address the prevention and protection of trafficking, the difficulty of mobilizing political will for action and the seemingly slow pace of change create a degree of frustration in discussions between the different actors, and sometimes tensions arise, but there is a firm commitment among participants in the session that continuing communication and collaboration is essential to the adoption of a comprehensive strategy. The open and candid discussion between participants, and the underlying respect, was appreciated. Jill Hanley of the School of Social Work, Université de Montréal, and Jacqueline Oxman-Martinez of École de service social, Université McGill, wrote this report. METROPOLIS CONVERSATION SERIES Metropolis developed its Conversation Series as a policyresearch instrument to help with efforts to improve the management of the profound changes wrought by migration and growing diversity. Metropolis creates settings in which senior policy makers and leading researchers can in complete confidence engage one another; explore situations or problems; challenge assumptions and probe each others expertise, all to advance the policy process and to create the basis for solutions in practice. The gatherings are small (in the order of fifteen to twenty-five people) with participants carefully chosen to effectively address the issue that confronts the client department, agency or organization. Each event is a closed and highly focused meeting promoting candid face-to-face exchanges among individuals who share common interests. This series makes it possible to take advantage of the extensive Metropolis network. Government policymakers and non-governmental specialists will work with members of this network drawn from nineteen of Canada s leading universities, from organizations active in migration and diversity fields and from others such as UNESCO, the European Commission, the Asia-Pacific Migration Research Network, and the International Organization for Migration. How to contact us To plan a session in the Metropolis Conversation Series, to identify or articulate substantive issues, to develop a roster of participants, to commission background papers, to develop the format of the session, and to discuss follow-up, please contact : The Metropolis Project at Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1, or telephone (613) Metropolis Conversation Series