Human trafficking is a human rights violation (Government of Ontario, 2021). According
to the Criminal Code of Canada, “trafficking in persons, also known as human trafficking,
involves recruiting, transporting, transferring, receiving, holding, concealing or harbouring
a person, or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a person,
for the purpose of exploiting them or facilitating their exploitation” (Ibrahim, 2021, para 1).
There are various forms of human trafficking, however sexual exploitation is the most
common (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, 2018).
The hidden nature of human trafficking makes it difficult to detect thus the data collected
underestimates the true magnitude of the crime. From 2005 to 2014, the Criminal Code
added specific human trafficking offences including defining exploitation related to human
trafficking, prohibiting human trafficking of persons under the age of 18 to minimum
mandatory sentences (14 years) on all child trafficking offences (Ibrahim, 2021). Between
2009 and 2016, 95% of identified human trafficking victims were women and girls with
70% of victims being under the age of 25 (Government of Canada, 2019). From 2009 to
2019, there were 2,468 police-reported human trafficking incidents in Canada (Ibrahim,
2021). Over the past decade, Ontario had the majority (65%) of Canadian human
trafficking incidents (1624 incidents) (Statistics Canada, 2019). Police in 2019 reported
511 incidents of human trafficking, a 44% increase from 2018. In 2019, police reported
67% of human trafficking incidents were Criminal Code violations, and 33% of incidents
were Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) violations (associated with crossborder
offences) (Ibrahim, 2021). The majority of human trafficking cross-border IRPA
human trafficking violations (76%) in 2019 occurred in Ontario. For example, 77% of
human trafficking offences in the St. Catharines – Niagara region were IRPA violations
(Ibrahim, 2021).
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While more human trafficking related cases are being processed in Canadian courts, the
conviction rate is low. In 2019, 83% of individuals accused of human trafficking were
males aged 18 – 34 years. Of police-reported human trafficking incidents, 35% of these
incidents involved other crimes with the majority (89%) reporting human trafficking being
the most serious violation. Ironically, the majority (89%) of human trafficking charges are
stayed, withdrawn, dismissed, or discharged. Only 7% of human trafficking cases result
in conviction. This data does not include Ontario conviction rates. Research suggests
crown attorneys in exchange for guilty pleas for lesser offences may withdraw human
trafficking charges. Reasons for this include reluctance of victims to charge their
traffickers as these cases can be harder to prove, the increased time required to complete
the case, and lack of hard evidence which shows our current judicial system does not
effectively serve victims of human trafficking and sexual based offences which reduces
the likelihood of traffickers being added to the Ontario Sex Offender Registry. When this
happens, the victim’s rights as outlined in Ontario’s Victims’ Bill of Rights are not being
supported. (Ibrahim, 2021; Bogdan, 2021).
References
Bogdan, S. (2022). Journey to justice: From reporting to convictions, the uphill climb for
sex trafficking victims. https://globalnews.ca/news/8624135/from-reporting-toconvictions-
the-uphill-climb-for-sex-trafficking-victims/
Government of Canada. (2019). National strategy to combat human trafficking. 2019-
2024. https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2019-ntnl-strtgy-hmnntrffc/
2019-ntnl-strtgy-hmnn-trffc-en.pdf
Government of Ontario. (2021). Bill 251, Combating human trafficking act, 2021.
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/21a21b
Ibrahim, D. (2021). Trafficking in persons in Canada, 2019. Trafficking in persons in
Canada, 2019. Juristat Bulletin—Quick Fact, (2021001).
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-005-x/2021001/article/00001-eng.htm
Statistics Canada. (2021). Police-reported human trafficking incidents, by province or
territory, 2009 to 2019. Table 1 Police-reported human trafficking incidents, by
province or territory, 2009 to 2019. https://www150.statscan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-005-
x/2021001/article/00001/tbl/tbl01-eng.htm
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes. (2018). Global report on trafficking in
persons. United Nations Publication. https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-andanalysis/
glotip/2018/GLOTiP_2018_BOOK_web_small.pdf
