Transcript Improved detection

Uncovering Labour
Trafficking in Canada
Yvon Dandurand
January 2015
Issue

Labour trafficking has not received sufficient attention

Very few cases of labour trafficking have been identified in Canada,
although there have been a few more cases recently

Victims of labour trafficking rarely report their experience to the
authorities

It is important to understand why labour trafficking victims do not
seek the protection of the justice system

Our knowledge on the prevalence of this crime in Canada is still very
limited

We need to better understand the challenges associated with the
detection, investigation and prosecution of labour trafficking
incidents.
The Project

GOAL: To understand how to improve the way instances of labour
trafficking are detected, investigated and prosecuted in Canada.

METHOD: Combined “action research” with a “stakeholder
engagement” exercise.

RESULTS: A review of current challenges and proposed solutions based
on the experiences of key stakeholders in four major Canadian cities,
on other informal consultations and on a review of the literature.
Objectives of Four Roundtable Meetings
Montreal – Toronto -Calgary - Vancouver

A fact finding objective

A didactic objective

A professional networking objective
Questions addressed during meetings

Existing cases: Have there been cases (or suspected cases) of labour trafficking in
this region? What did these cases involve? How were they detected? Were they
investigated – by whom? Did the investigation confirm that labour trafficking was
involved?

Challenges encountered: What challenges have participants already identified
with respect to the detection, investigation and prosecution of labour trafficking
cases?

Improving reporting by victims: Can something be done to assist victims and
persuade them somehow to come forward and seek the protection of the justice
system?

Role of labour inspectors and other regulatory agencies: What role, if any, did
participants see regulatory agencies play in the detection of cases of labour
trafficking? Are these regulatory agencies currently contributing to the detection
of labour trafficking incidents? If yes, how do they so? If not, why not? Is it worth
further exploring this potential role? What would be required to further develop
this role?

Improved Interagency Cooperation: How can we improve inter-agency
cooperation in the detection, investigation and prosecution of labour trafficking
cases? What are some of the best practices in that regard?
The Findings

Improved understanding of labour trafficking

Improved prevention

Improved detection and victim identification

Improved investigations

Improved prosecutions
Improved understanding
Understanding of the law

There is still some confusion about the definitions of
labour trafficking in IRPA and in the Criminal Code

Mistaken emphasis of some agencies on trying to define
what level of exploitation amounts to labour trafficking.

Training on how to interpret the law still required

The new FPT Working Group Handbook for Criminal
Justice Practitioners on Human Trafficking will be helpful
in that regard
Understanding labour trafficking as a
process

labour trafficking, forced labour and other forms of labour
exploitation are all part of a continuum of exploitation
and coercion, with clear cut labour cases at one end of
that continuum and much more subtle forms of
exploitation and coercion at the other end.

labour trafficking primarily takes place in the context of
the exploitation of migrant labour.

It is crucial to better understand these patterns and their
implications for regulators, investigators and prosecutors.
Understanding the vulnerability of migrant
workers and undocumented workers
Labour trafficking primarily takes place in the context of
exploitation of migrant labour.
 Victims of forced labour or labour trafficking often do not see
themselves as victims, but rather as workers in a difficult
situation.
 Two main groups of immigrants at risk of being trafficked for
the purpose of labour exploitation:


undocumented migrant workers;

Migrant workers who come to Canada legally under a TFW program.
Both groups are very vulnerable to labour exploitation
(isolation, cultural factors, fear of deportation, large debt
contracted to come to Canada)
 Domestic workers and farm workers are particularly vulnerable
due to the nature of their work, their working conditions, and
their isolation.

Structural factors increase the
vulnerability of migrant workers

The role of intermediaries (e.g. recruitment agencies,
brokers, etc.) and the lack of effective monitoring of their
activities.

Immigration policies (no path to regularization for
undocumented workers)

The structure of existing FTW Program
 E.g.
Work permits attached to one employer instead of
sector-wide permits
Understanding patterns of victim
exploitation

Forced labour is better understood as “a process and not as a static
relationship between workers and employers”.

Recent amendments to the Criminal Code have helped define what is
meant by exploitation (section 279.04).

It is also important to recognize that, although the law makes a
distinction between labour trafficking and sexual trafficking, the reality
of many victims is that they are subjected to both forms of exploitation.

Some people complain that they are unfamiliar with what distinguishes
violations of labour standards from labour trafficking. Exploitation
however can be defined on a continuum and that it tends to evolve over
time. It is the coercion and the deception which accounts for the
difference between labour exploitation and labour trafficking. Otherwise,
it would simply be a matter of what the workers are prepared to accept.
Understanding patterns of control and
coercion

The methods of coercion and control used by labour traffickers tend
to be poorly understood by law enforcement or criminal justice
officials.

It is important to understand the relationship between offenders and
victims in order to improve current prevention and enforcement
strategies.

It is important to understand histories and relationships between
offenders and victims and the situations that enable these
relationships to be manipulated for criminal purposes.

Non-physical methods of control over the victims are used depending
on the victim’s susceptibility and context.

Psychological coercion is subtle, effective, and difficult to prove
IMPROVED PREVENTION
IMPROVED PREVENTION

Labour trafficking is best addressed through preventative
measures that tackle victimization before it occurs .

Methods suggested:

Improving the monitoring of the TFW Program;

Improving employment standards, enhancing worker protection
laws, and enhancing labour standards enforcement;

Ensuring that intermediaries (agents, brokers) are effectively
regulated and monitored;

Providing information to employers;

Providing information to workers.
Improved detection
Improved detection:
Mitigating the risks associated with reporting

By reporting their victimization to the police, victims of labour
trafficking may be exposing themselves to a host of other risks,
including retaliation by the offenders or their accomplices,
deportation, penalties and even persecution in their own country
upon their return.

These other risks can be mitigated:

Protective measures

Facilitated access to TRP

Regularization of immigration status

Predictable and fair pathways to permanent resident status
Improved detection:
Increased victim support and access to redress

The success of a labour trafficking investigation and prosecution
depends on the collaboration of victims.

Victims with no viable alternatives to their situation are unlikely to
report the crime.

If the crime is being investigated, the investigation and prosecution
process is often a long one and victims, typically irregular migrants or
temporary foreign workers will have most likely lost the means to
support themselves and will be totally dependent on support and
assistance.

Victims of labour trafficking have very few effective remedies
available to them – for example, for regaining lost wages or obtaining
compensation for injury. There are few incentives for them to report
their victimization.
Improved detection:
Improvements to the TFW Program

It was also suggested that employers’ compliance with program
conditions and standards should be more diligently monitored
and enforced.

Penalties and other consequences should be imposed on noncompliant employers and agencies.
Improved investigations
Investigations

More proactive investigations

Greater priority to be given to labour trafficking investigations

Greater interagency cooperation required

Collaboration with regulatory agencies

Little collaboration so far

General willingness to explore the possibility

There will be some limits to the mode and scope of information
exchanges between regulatory and law enforcement agencies

Training will be required

Formal protocols and information sharing agreements will be
necessary

Collaboration with managers of TFW Program will be required
Improved prosecutions
•
Little experience to date
•
Specialization of prosecutors is important
•
Corroborating evidence is often difficult to produce
•
Prosecution must work closely with victim assistance
organizations
Conclusions

The identification of victims of labour trafficking will likely continue
to be problematic

The consequences for victims of reporting their victimization are
potentially huge and negative effects of the consequences must be
mitigated

It is important to understand the many ways in which migrant workers
become vulnerable to labour trafficking – it is important to ensure
that immigration policies, immigration law enforcement and TFW
Program conditions do not further compound that vulnerability

Some specific measures can be taken to improve victim reporting
rates

Proactive investigation is absolutely essential

Proactive investigations can be facilitated by interagency
collaboration and by linking some regulatory activities with law
enforcement investigations
[email protected]
International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy