Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, issued the following statement:
"Human trafficking is a heinous crime which can have profound and long-lasting physical, psychological, emotional, and financial impacts on victims and survivors. On this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, we join countries around the world in raising awareness to the signs and impacts of this crime and to continue our fight against it.
This year's theme is a call to action to end child trafficking. Our government is determined to continue to use every tool at our disposal to prevent and combat it and empower victims and survivors to reclaim their lives.
In 2019, the Government of Canada launched the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking to strengthen Canada's response to human trafficking, prevent and address gender-based violence, and ensure the safety of Indigenous peoples. We are currently working on the next iteration of the strategy, which will be informed by insights and guidance from victims and survivors, partners, and frontline practitioners.
Currently, almost every case of child trafficking involves the use of the Internet. Canada, like its international partners, is increasingly concerned about the use of technology to facilitate human trafficking and the risk it poses to youth. Children represent a significant proportion of trafficking victims worldwide and, of the police-reported incidents in Canada, almost 25 per cent of victims are girls under 18. Traffickers use social media, messaging services and other applications and online platforms, to begin the process of grooming, luring and exploitation.
Understanding the signs to look for is the first step to prevention. Public Safety Canada continues to focus on protecting at-risk populations, especially youth, by raising awareness, including through our national public awareness campaign, of the different forms of human trafficking, warning signs and ways to report suspected incidences. I encourage all Canadians to join the fight against this crime by learning about the signs and risks of human trafficking, and empowering others to do the same.
On this International Day of Awareness, we reaffirm our commitment to combatting this heinous crime."
