TIP REPORT MAKES HEADLINES AROUND CANADA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 000487 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR G/TIP (FLECK),INL, WHA/CAN, WHA/PDA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV KTIP KPAO KMDR SMIG KCRM KWMN ELAB CA SUBJECT: TIP REPORT MAKES HEADLINES AROUND CANADA REF: STATE 60540 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. The 2009 Trafficking In Persons (TIP) report received widespread media coverage in Canada, thanks largely to the selection of Canada's first ever TIP hero, Benjamin Perrin. ConGen Vancouver took maximum advantage of this opportunity by organizing a press conference and booking Perrin's appearances on a wide range of television and radio programs. Newspapers and media outlets across the country covered the report's conclusions. The Embassy, British Columbia Ministry of Public Safety, and Member of Parliament Joy Smith all released statements congratulating Perrin on his selection and highlighting various sections of the report. The Department of Foreign Affairs expressed satisfaction that Canada maintained its tier one status, and noted that Canada is committed to improving its prosecution and enforcement. On June 23 the CDA hosted a Mission Canada DVC with Ambassador Luis CdeBaca that included MP Smith, Senator Mobina Jaffer, Perrin, and over 65 government, law enforcement and NGO contacts participating from Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, raising several areas for strengthening U.S.-Canadian cooperation in combating TIP. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) On June 15 Poloff delivered reftel TIP report to Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Policy Advisor Graeme Hamilton. Hamilton expressed satisfaction and relief that Canada maintained its Tier 1 status, and noted that Canada is committed to improving its prosecution and enforcement performance. ¶3. (SBU) On June 16 ConGen Vancouver organized a press conference and series of high-level press events for TIP Hero and University of British Columbia law professor Benjamin Perrin, who appeared on national, regional, local and ethnic television and radio programs. Thanks to Consulate Vancouver's efforts, on June 16-17 Perrin appeared on CBC News, CTV, City TV, Shaw TV, OMNI TV, Fairchild TV, Canada AM, and Chinese-language "Ming Pao" and "Sing Tao." His radio interviews included one with CBC Radio which aired in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Saint John, Whitehorse, and Charlottetown, and others with local talk radio stations in Vancouver and Calgary. Embassy Ottawa issued a press release congratulating Perrin on his selection, timed to coincide with the Secretary's June 16 report roll-out in Washington. Print coverage resulting from ConGen Vancouver's media event with Perrin included reports in the Vancouver Sun, Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, Ottawa Citizen, Brandon Sun, Bugle-Observer, Pictou Country, Nova Scotia News, Lethbridge Herald, Medicine Hat News, Orleans Star, CanadaEast.com, and the Province (Vancouver). ¶4. (U) British Columbia's (BC) Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General also issued a press release congratulating Perrin and noting that BC's Office to Combat TIP was cited in the report for its role in coordinating anti-trafficking measures for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. While congratulating Perrin, MP Joy Smith's (Kildonan-St.Paul) press statement echoed the report's comments on the difficulties faced by law enforcement with securing adequate punishments against offenders, and Qsecuring adequate punishments against offenders, and recommended improved coordination among national and provincial governments on law enforcement and victim services. Smith's statement called upon Canada to develop and implement a national strategy to combat TIP. ¶5. (SBU) Charge d'Affaires Terry Breese hosted a Mission Canada DVC on June 23 with Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, director of G/TIP, that included over 65 federal and provincial government officials, law enforcement officials, and NGO contacts participating from Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Ambassador CdeBaca provided an overview of the 2009 TIP report, Attorney General's report on USG efforts to combat TIP, the latest U.S. and international counter-trafficking efforts, and the impact of the global economic crisis. Ambassador CdeBaca also described how the U.S. had tightened laws regulating unscrupulous labor brokers. MP Joy Smith and Senator Mobina Jaffer (British Columbia) described their legislative efforts to combat human trafficking in the House of Commons and Senate, including Smith's Bill C-268 that would introduce mandatory minimum sentences of five years for trafficking of anyone under 18 OTTAWA 00000487 002 OF 002 years old. Smith and several other activists expressed support for implementation of a Canadian TIP action plan. TIP Hero Ben Perrin suggested that the U.S. and Canada update their joint cross-border threat assessment of human trafficking and organized crime. Perrin also suggested developing "sister city" and "sister region" networks across the U.S.-Canadian border to find common solutions to similar challenges. A Winnipeg representative of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs noted that 80 pct of exploited children in Winnipeg are of aboriginal descent and that domestic trafficking is a serious problem. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: Thanks largely to the selection of the first ever Canadian TIP Hero, this year's report generated more coverage than any other in recent memory. This publicity will further reinforce the commonly held view among NGO activists of the TIP report as a key benchmark for measuring the government's performance, and will hopefully contribute to greater public attention to this issue. The June 23rd DVC bringing together Canada's key parliamentary, governmental, law enforcement and NGO stake-holders, helped build U.S.-Canadian dialogue on combating TIP. ¶7. (SBU) Post thanks G/TIP for authorizing us to provide an embargoed copy of the report to the Vancouver Sun columnist, ensuring widespread national coverage of the report's release, and for organizing the June 23rd DVC. In responding proactively to both of these requests, we advanced our close partnership with Canadian interlocutors to reinforce and amplify our message. ¶8. (U) ConGen Vancouver contributed to this cable. Visit Canada,s North American partnership community at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / BREESE