Monday, April 22, 2013

Services in Toronto area available to traffickied persons: an online survey



(image: http://onlinesurveyjob.org/)
 Toronto Counter Human Trafficking Network has developed short online survey to gather information about services provided to trafficked people in the area of Toronto, as well as the level of understanding of issues related to human trafficking. The information gathered through the survey is vital and will better inform our upcoming endeavours as a Network.

We encourage organizations from different fields (frontline, healthcare, legal aid, settlement, women and children, temporary foreign workers recruiters, immigration and refugee, etc.) within Toronto area to respond to the survey and to ask organizations within their respective networks to take also a part.

Please help us to reach wide audience. 

You can access the survey questions here

Friday, April 19, 2013

Human trafficking in Toronto appears on city’s agenda

Staff report raises questions about city practice of advertising in publications with escort ads.

The City of Toronto is considering joining the war on human trafficking, but it probably won’t stop advertising in publications with escort ads. In a report before Mayor Rob Ford’s executive committee next week, city staff note that Toronto is the Canadian hot spot for the vile crime.

They recommend that Toronto start collaborating with groups and committees who are trying to stamp out forced sex work and other forms of exploitation. The city would also work with other levels of government and Toronto police to “design a training program to inform, educate and train city staff regarding human trafficking.” Finally, data would be collected “about trafficked persons, success stories, and charged and convicted traffickers to benchmark and monitor the trends in Toronto.” The report notes the city advertises in “a number” of online and print publications that may contribute to human trafficking by running escort ads, which police and others say “may be used to market trafficked persons to prospective customers.”

However, staff recommended the city not yank those ads unless it does a thorough review to determine if the publications are, in fact, contributing to the problem. Toronto police say most human-trafficking victims here are girls and women forced into various forms of prostitution. Statistics Canada figures show that, of the 77 people charged in Canada with human trafficking between 2006 and 2011, 34 — almost half — were in Toronto. Three-quarters of convictions for the crime were in Southern Ontario and 62.5 per cent in the GTA, the report states.


Read city report here

FORUM : Human Trafficking for Forced Labour: Raising Awareness and Building Response


Venue: Toronto Harbour Light Ministries, 160 Jarvis St. (at Queen St.)

Date: April 23th 2013

Time: from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

International Perspectives

  • Anthony Navaneelan: Refugee and Immigration Lawyer, formerly with UNHCR and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Topic: International legal perspectives on Human Trafficking.
  •  Philip Hunter: Formerly with the ILO’s forced labour program, now Program Specialist with Verité. Topic: The situation of forced labour trafficking internationally and the work of the ILO.
  • Chissey Mueller: Project Manager, IOM. Topic: The work of the IOM in fighting labour trafficking internationally.
National Perspectives
  • Ammeet Grewal: Intelligence Officer (CBSA). Topic: The Work of the CBSA to fight Human Trafficking.
  • Marisa Berry Méndez: Settlement Policy Director (CCR) and Samanta Garcia Fialdini: Trafficking Project Coordinator (CCR). Topic: The Temporary Foreign Worker Program and Temporary Resident Permits, vulnerabilities of migrant workers and internationally trafficked people.
  • Alfredo Barahona:  Migrant and Indigenous Rights Program Coordinator (Kairos). Topic: Migrant worker rights and the situation of labour trafficking in rural settings.
  • Cathy Kolar:  Immigration Specialist (Legal Assistance of Windsor). Topic: Situation of forced labour trafficking in urban settings.

  • Registration payment:
By credit card: visit Eventbrite ($10.00 + $1.59 on line fee) http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5647445662/es2005/?rank=1#
By cheque / Pay at the door: visit FCJ Refugee Centre website ($10.00)
FREE FOR STUDENTS: Fill out the registration form on our website and email it to: cteves@fcjrefugeecentre.org


This event is part of the National Victims of Crime Awareness Week 2013:
We All Have a Role.
Funded by the Department of Justice Canada