RAISING TIP AWARENESS IN CANADIAN HIGH SCHOOLS

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000044

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL, G/TIP (BARBARA FLECK)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KTIP SMIG KCRM KWMN CA
SUBJECT: RAISING TIP AWARENESS IN CANADIAN HIGH SCHOOLS

REF: 08 OTTAWA 1560


1. (U) Summary: A Catholic religious group has produced an
educational packet to raise awareness of trafficking in
persons among high school students in advance of the 2010
Vancouver Olympic Games. While the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police (RCMP) has downplayed the possibility of increased
trafficking during the Games, NGOs have claimed a clear
pattern of trafficking during large international sporting
events, and are working to boost awareness. End summary.


2. (U) The Canadian Religious Conference (CRC),an
association of 290 leaders of Catholic religious
congregations in Canada, has prepared and is beginning to
distribute kits to educate high school students about human
trafficking in advance of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
The RCMP has publicly dismissed the likelihood of an
increase in trafficking during the 2010 Games (reftel),but
NGOs claim to have detected increased trafficking during
large sporting events, when demand for trafficked commercial
sex workers and labor for construction increases. In
November 2007, the Future Group (an NGO established by
University of British Columbia law professor Benjamin Perrin)
released a report highlighting the risk of increased
trafficking during the upcoming Games.


3. (U) Entitled "We are a Global Village - Human Trafficking
and the 2010 Olympics," the user-friendly education kits
include a DVD, user guide, and teacher notes. The materials
were designed with teachers in mind, and are deliberately
easy to use. With teachers under strict curriculum
guidelines, CRC staff told poloff that the kits are "short
and sweet," aiming to spark teacher interest by providing
sufficient materials for two class periods. Conservative
Member of Parliament Joy Smith, a long-time anti-TIP
activist, has endorsed the kits, telling media that the CRC
had created "a compelling and comprehensive tool for teachers
to use to educate their students about this horrendous abuse
of human rights." Smith added that "educating our students
is a crucial step to finally ending this modern day slavery."
CRC staff told poloff that the Ottawa Catholic School Board
Superintendent's office had also endorsed the initiative.
The CRC has also supported the fight against TIP through a
number of initiatives, including a theater production to
raise trafficking awareness.


4. (U) The kits can be ordered from the CRC website at
www.crc-canada.org for CAD $8 apiece (or CAD $6 for orders of
at least ten kits). According to CRC staff, CRC will
initially target Catholic high schools in Ottawa, Quebec, and
Alberta, but also intend eventually to distribute the kits to
public high schools around Canada. The CRC staff clarified
that only one page of the kits is religious in nature, and
could easily be adapted or removed for use in public high
schools. CRC staff added that the kits could also be used to
educate adult audiences and that several organizations in the
U.S. have already placed orders. The CRC hopes that the kit
will soon be advertised on the U.S.-based
www.notforsalecampaign.org website.


5. (U) Comment: As elsewhere in the world, Canadian NGOs have
a key role to play in working to raise awareness on TIP.
Mission Canada will continue to strengthen cooperation with
Canadian government agencies as well as NGOs to build
understanding of the trafficking risks associated with the
2010 Winter Games.

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WILKINS