Statement made on 10 December 2009 by Senator Lillian Eva Dyck
Hon. Lillian Eva Dyck:
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Canada is a signatory to Article 9 of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children. Therefore, Canada ought to be active in efforts to prevent trafficking and, in so doing, leading civil society to play an active role in preventing the occurrence of trafficking.
The clandestine nature of human trafficking makes it very difficult to track once in progress. Enacting human trafficking legislation alone without other government measures will not make a significant impact on the level of trafficking, in particular taking measures to attack the root causes that lead to people being trafficked. Without undertaking preventive measures, we will likely not see a decrease in human trafficking, a crime which is an abomination to the very notion of human rights.
Would the Leader of the Government in the Senate tell the chamber what steps the government is taking in adopting article 9 of the protocol, specifically with respect to the prevention of human trafficking?
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