CANADA'S MULTI-FACETED APPROACH TO COMBATING TIP

1. (SBU) Summary: The Conservative government has recently
taken several concrete steps to address the problem of human
trafficking in Canada, making this effort a law enforcement
priority and highlighting to the Canadian electorate its
efforts as an illustration of government effectiveness. Led
by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Minister Monte
Solberg and coordinated with the Departments of Justice and
Public Safety, Canada issued guidelines in May that legalize
the status of trafficking victims and offer avenues for
victims' assistance. The guidelines directly address
criticism highlighted in a March Canadian NGO report that the
country is failing to adequately protect trafficking victims.
Simultaneously, the RCMP implemented a anti-TIP law
enforcement training program to sensitize officers about
trafficking realities in Canada and to provide information
about implementing the new guidelines. A Member of
Parliament (MP) recently sponsored a Human Trafficking Forum
to promote public awareness and focus media attention on the
issue. Sources in the Canadian government expect that the
tools, training and awareness will establish Canada as a
country committed to fighting trafficking from both a
humanitarian and a law enforcement perspective. There are
many eyes, particularly in the civil society community, who
are watching with cautious optimism. End Summary.



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Canada Implements a Victims-Centered Policy


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2. (SBU) On May 11, the CIC minister issued interim
guidelines for Canadian law enforcement and CIC officers that
create a special temporary residency permit (TRP) for
trafficking victims, based on immigration provisions
contained in the 2002 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
(IRPA). The guidelines provide wide discretionary authority
to local law enforcement, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) and Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) officials to
provide legal status to possible trafficking victims.
Officials may now grant a short-term TRP of up to 120 days to
provide a "reflection period" for the victim and an
investigative window for law enforcement to determine whether
there is enough evidence to pursue a trafficking case. They
may also accord a longer-term TRP in cases where more
complete verification of the facts substantiates an officer's
determination that the individual is a trafficking victim.
CIC officers, in consultation with law enforcement, determine
during the initial short-term period whether a longer-term
TRP of up to three years, is merited. A victim's ability to
receive initial TRP status is not predicated on his/her
cooperation with law enforcement. Receiving a TRP does not
preclude a victim from accessing other immigration options,
including applying for permanent resident status after three
years, pursuing a refugee protection claim, petitioning for a
stay of removal, or applying for humanitarian and
Qstay of removal, or applying for humanitarian and
compassionate consideration or a pre-removal risk assessment.
(NOTE: For more details about these options, see ref A.
END NOTE). In addition to legal status under the TRP, the
victim has access to federally-funded emergency medical
services, including psychological and social counseling, for
the period of the TRP. A Victim may also choose to return to
his/her country of citizenship or legal permanent residence
and consultations with the individual's embassy are
encouraged.



3. (C) According to Senior Policy Advisor to Minister
Solberg, Ben Perrin (PLEASE PROTECT), the government is
working to strike a balance between a strictly humanitarian
approach that opens doors to potentially fraudulent claims
and a law enforcement-centered one that criminalizes a
potential victim's illegal immigration status. (NOTE:
Perrin is the former Executive Director of the NGO The Future
Group that published a March 1 report giving Canada a failing
grade in its efforts to comply with international obligations
to protect trafficking victims. Shortly, thereafter,
Minister Solberg brought Perrin into his office with the

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understanding that Perrin would be able to craft and promote
the new government's prompt redress of a problem that had
been insufficiently addressed by the former Liberal
government. Perrin, who is leaving the Minister's office in
August 2006 to clerk for a Supreme Court Justice, has been
selected to participate in a June 2007 International
Visitors' Program on combating trafficking. END NOTE).
Perrin said that, after considering the U.S. 90-day model as
well as those of several European countries and Australia,
Minister Solberg proposed a 120 day period because it better
reflects the more decentralized and thus slower Canadian
system.



4. (C) Basing their figures on early U.S. experience,
Perrin said that Canada anticipates granting approximately 10
- 14 TRPs to trafficking victims during the first year and
that federal funds have been dedicated for the associated
victims' support. In order to facilitate data collection,
CIC has instituted a special code in their Field Operations
Support System (FOSS) database for tracking recipients of
trafficking TRPs. Perrin noted that, in an effort to monitor
the implementation and effectiveness of the new guidelines,
the Minister's office has requested that it be notified when
a victim of trafficking in persons (VTIP) is offered a TRP.
The "CIC Human Trafficking Interim Guidelines" are scheduled
for review by years' end.



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A Kinder, Gentler Approach to Victims' Assistance


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5. (C) The new guidelines provide a framework for a
consultative inter-agency process that solicits NGO
cooperation to identify TIP victims and to tap civil
society's social service network. Perrin said that his office
has publicized the new guidelines directly to Canadian NGOs
through a series of meetings and has encouraged them to bring
self-identified trafficking victims to the attention of law
enforcement and/or CIC to determine whether they are eligible
for the TRP. Conversations with Perrin reveal anxious
anticipation on the Government's part to successfully apply
the new guidelines for both political expediency and
humanitarian reasons. Federal government interest in
identifying a "test case" may help to explain a case that
unfolded recently in British Columbia. Other relevant
considerations include the constant and continuous
cross-border intelligence cooperation between Canadian and
U.S. Integrated Border Enforcement Teams (IBETs) and the
RCMP's enhanced trafficking awareness training that
sensitizes law enforcement to the possibility that a victim
is being trafficked.



6. (C) On June 11, near Osoyoos, British Columbia, the RCMP
discovered six South Korean women whom they identified as
trafficking victims, along with several others who were
hoping to be smuggled into the U.S. The women had arrived in
Canada at the beginning of June under Canada's visa waiver
program for South Korean citizens (Ref B). According to CIC
and RCMP sources, law enforcement offered the women
protection under the new guidelines but the women declined
Qprotection under the new guidelines but the women declined
and returned to their country of origin. This was, however,
the first instance of a trafficking victim being offered
protection under the new guidelines. Perrin described CIC
officials' mixed feelings about the offer's rejection. The
fact that the women felt safe enough to return to Korea
undercuts critics' claims that the new guidelines could
easily be abused by illegitimate applicants and adds
credibility to the government's argument that, at least in
some cases, trafficking victims opt voluntarily to return to
their countries of origin. On the other hand, the Government
still lacks a credible example of the new guidelines at work.
Conversations with RCMP officials responsible for human
trafficking outreach and awareness reveal a new emphasis on
and awareness of trafficking realities. One officer said
"two years ago, the idea that any of these individuals might
have been trafficked would never have crossed their (local
law enforcement) minds." He suggested the possibility that
law enforcement's enlightened yet zealous approach to
identifying trafficking victims may result in law enforcement
unintentionally pursuing cases which are ultimately

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determined to be smuggling, and not trafficking, cases.



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RCMP Raises Awareness of Officers and the Public


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7. (SBU) The RCMP has initiated a human trafficking
awareness package with four components, some of which have
already been implemented; others are set for an official
launch in September. Building on an initiative from British
Columbia RCMP's Human Trafficking Division, the RCMP has
developed an English language training video for use both
in-house and for public outreach. The video acknowledges
that human trafficking is a problem in Canada, provides brief
but realistic scenarios to show law enforcement what a
trafficking victim might look like should s/he stumble upon a
victim during a bust, and provides guidance on how to address
a victim's needs. Versions of this video are already in use
in various units across Canada despite a delay in the
official launch until the French language version is ready in
September. Secondly, the RCMP has developed pocket-sized
cards for field officers to carry that not only enumerate
several pertinent questions to help identify a trafficking
victim but also give contact information for one of the six
regional Human Trafficking Awareness Coordinators. The Human
Trafficking Awareness Coordinator's role is to identify and
direct field officers to specific local organizations that
can provide victims' assistance. The RCMP is designing and
will publish and distribute public awareness posters.
Lastly, they are utilizing the "Human Trafficking: Reference
Guide for Canadian Law Enforcement" pamphlet published in May
2005 by University College of the Fraser Valley Press in
their National Training Center in Regina, Alberta as well as
at the local level.



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Member of Parliament Smith Raises the Profile


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8. (SBU) On June 10 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, MP Joy Smith
sponsored "Stop the Slavery: A Forum on Human Trafficking"
that attracted approximately 200 participants, including
members of Canada's press. The Forum intended to raise both
public and media awareness of the issue and included among
the speakers: Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Albina Dann,
"The Natashas" author Victor Malarek and Senior Advisor on
Trafficking in the State Department's Office for Democracy
and Global Affairs Laura Lederer. Ms. Smith has been invited
to speak at the Atlantic Region Human Trafficking Workshop
entitled "Recognition and Rescue," sponsored by the Canadian
Coast Guard College in Sydney, Nova Scotia between November 6
and 9.



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What Lies Ahead?


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9. (C) COMMENT: The new CIC guidelines coupled with the
emerging RCMP human trafficking awareness campaign and
continuing interest among Parliamentarians and federal level
ministers like Solberg, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day
and Justice Minister Vic Toews will likely mean that human
trafficking concerns will receive greater attention in Canada
Qtrafficking concerns will receive greater attention in Canada
in the future. Addressing this issue fits comfortably within
the government's crime tackling agenda, one of its "Big Five"
priorities, and includes proposed legislative reforms that
could improve Canada's ability, but not necessarily its will,
to punish human traffickers. Anti-TIP advocates continue to
await a verdict in Canada's first trial of an individual
accused of violating IRPA's human trafficking provisions.
The trial opened in a Vancouver court in March. While some
members of the NGO community initially praised the new CIC
guidelines, they remain skeptical about their implementation
and the government's commitment to addressing victims' needs.
Robin Pike, Manager of the Human Trafficking Protocols in
the British Columbia Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor
General (MPSSG), pointed to the Osoyoos case as an example of
the system failing. In her mind, the victims were "sent
back" before any members of the NGO community had direct
contact with them, in spite of the fact that the RCMP called

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her Ministry to obtain guidance on housing the women. By the
time Ministry officials returned the call the next day, the
women were gone. The government's 17-member
Interdepartmental Working Group on Trafficking in Persons
(IWG) held a session on June 23 at which representatives of
the Canadian Council for Refugees and the MPSSG made
presentations. According to Pike, while "suspicion
continues, the channels of communication appear to be open."
Time will tell whether Harper government's commitment to
tackle Canada's trafficking problem will result in improved
identification of victims, better access for victims to
services, increased investigations, prosecutions and
convictions of traffickers, and the imposition of effective
penalties for convicted traffickers. END COMMENT


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