Thank you, Mr. Speaker. While the Olympic Games are an international celebration of sport, sporting events such as these often attract people who traffic and exploit others for profit. I’ve received many letters from constituents and others who are concerned about this problem and who want to see action taken by Canadian governments that will prevent human traffickers from using the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver as an opportunity to exploit trafficking victims.

In 2007 The Future Group, a Canadian, non-government organization that works to combat human trafficking and exploitation, released a report entitled “Faster, Higher, Stronger: Preventing Human Trafficking at the 2010 Olympics”. The

report highlights how human trafficking increased both in Germany during the FIFA World Cup and in Athens at the 2004 Olympics. In Germany, extensive prevention campaigns, immigration controls, and law enforcement efforts prevented a significant increase in human trafficking. In Athens, where measures were not as extensive as those taken by Germany, there was a 95 percent increase in human trafficking victims identified by Greek authorities.

The report also makes the following recommendations for the Government of Canada and British Columbia to strengthen existing efforts to combat this modern form of human slavery: Deter traffickers and potential commercial sex users by implementing effective public awareness campaigns before, during, and after the 2010 Olympics; disrupt trafficking networks and prosecute traffickers through a coordinated and proactive law enforcement response at all levels of government; prevent human trafficking by identifying victims in transit through border controls and comprehensive training for border agents; and, protect trafficked persons by providing safe housing, counselling, legal aid, temporary residence status, translation, and medical assistance.

These measures are long overdue. Even without the 2010 Olympics, the RCMP Criminal Intelligence Directorate estimated, in a 2004 report, that 800 people are trafficked into Canada each year, 600 of which are destined for the sex trade. An additional 1,500 to 2,200 people are trafficked from Canada into the United States annually. The majority of these victims are women and children.

The Government of Canada has taken several steps toward combating human trafficking, such as making it a Criminal Code offence, adopting measures to provide protection to victims, and introducing legislation to prevent work visas from being used to traffic women.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted