Toronto Counter Human Trafficking Network (TCHTN)

TORONTO COUNTER HUMAN TRAFFICKING NETWORK HAS MOVED

2014-10-30T12:43:00.000-04:00

Please visit us on our new homepage: http://torontocounterhumantraffickingnet.wordpress.com

Vancouver man sentenced to 18 months for human trafficking

2013-10-24T14:15:00.002-04:00

Franco Orr was convicted in June on three counts under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

VANCOUVER — — A British Columbia man who lied to immigration officials in order to bring the family nanny to Canada from Hong Kong, luring her with empty promises so she would care for his three children, should spend 18 months in prison, a B.C. Supreme Court judge said Tuesday.
Franco Orr has been a productive member of society with no criminal record but he must spend time behind bars in order to deter others who would violate Canada's immigration laws, Justice Richard Goepel told the 50-year-old businessman before he was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom by a sheriff.

"Individuals cannot be allowed to disregard the immigration laws of this country with impunity," Goepel said.

While there have been dozens of convictions for human trafficking under the Criminal Code, this is the first such conviction under the Immigration Act.
Goepel said the Crown did not prove the nanny, Leticia Sarmiento, was subjected to humiliating or degrading treatment in the Orr residence, which would have been an aggravating factor.

Read more

Inside the world of human sex trafficking

2013-10-10T10:58:00.005-04:00

Victims often don't fit the stereotype: they could be from a middle-class suburban family, being sold online. They could be your daughter

By: Jennifer Quinn News reporter, Robert Cribb Foreign, Published on Sat Oct 05 2013, Toronto Star

She poses on a bed, wearing pink lingerie and staring into the camera. “I’m young, I’m willing and I’m waiting for you,” reads the pitch in the online ad. “I love to please.”

Any suggestion of glamour vanishes quickly inside the seamy Scarborough hotel.

The hallways are fetid; it’s unlikely the rooms will be any better.

Brianne answers the knock, expecting to see the anonymous man with whom she negotiated sex-for-money over email about an hour earlier.

Instead, two police officers step inside the room — floral polyester bedspread, stained carpet — where the tattered beige curtains are drawn and a filmy camisole is draped over the lampshade in a sad attempt at atmosphere.More

2013-09-26T16:56:00.002-04:00

Toronto Counter Human Trafficking Network

Roundtable: Building Collaboration to Combat Human Trafficking in the City of Toronto

Date: 28 and 29 October 2013

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

Time: 9am to 5pm

Fee: $10 (for both days)

This is the first of a series of roundtables aiming to facilitate the dialogue between multi-sector stakeholders to address the issue of human trafficking in the City of Toronto.

Day one

Series of panel presentations by multi‐sector stakeholders who dedicate their work to counter human trafficking followed by a discussion.

Day two

Working group discussions to initiate a dialogue on policy development.

SPACES ARE LIMITED! Register by sending email at tchtn@fcjrefugeecentre.org with your name indicating if attending both days. If attending only one day please SPECIFY WHICH DAY (for catering purposes).

Payment method:

CREDIT CARD go to Eventbrite ($10+$1.59 on line fee): https://antitraffickingroundtableone.eventbrite.com

CASH or CHECK pay at the door

Lunch will be provided

Subsidies are available for people who cannot pay the registration fee

For more information contact:

Varka Kalaydzhieva at 416-469-9754, ext.222 or varka@fcjrefugeecentre.org

The event is funded by the City of Toronto

Job Posting

2013-09-16T09:59:00.002-04:00

Peer Street Outreach Workers

JOB POSTING for 3 Peer Harm Reduction Workers (women – trans inclusive)*

All Saints Church-Community Centre is committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment, while enhancing the well-being of homeless and street-involved individuals. The Sex Worker’s Drop-in Centre was created two years ago and provides programs to address the impact that discrimination, poverty, violence and drug use have on the lives of the women it serves. Based on a harm reduction perspective, the drop-in centre provides programming and support, counselling and advocacy to women involved in the sex industry. Programming includes: nursing care and health services; social work support; provision of warm meals; sexual health workshops; and personal rights training sessions. PROS(Providing Resources, Offering Support) All Saints newest initiative, provides support, advocacy, counselling and programming to women and youth that have been exploited in the sex industry. We work to educate other service providers, community members and our greater society about issues of commercial sexual exploitation in Toronto, while contributing to policies that transform public perception and enhance people’s rights and safety.

Responsibilities:

* provide street based outreach to street-involved sex workers and at risk women & youth for one 5 hour shift per week as part of our Sex Worker’s Drop In (shifts are Fridays 6:30 – 11:30 am)

* as a Harm Reduction team member, the Peer Outreach worker helps to plan new program activities

A Street Outreach Shift includes:

* handing out harm reduction materials & information, such as condoms, needles, safer crack use kits

* providing support, education, and referrals to health & community services

* keeping track of supplies given out and the number of people met on a shift

* taking part in team talks about trends seen on a shift with staff, students & volunteers

* Peers are expected to attend biweekly supervision with program social worker

The positions are a 6 month contract which is dependent on program funding and pays $15.00 per hour for a maximum of 5hrs/week per person.

Please call or email Jolene at 416-368-7768 ext. 24 or jolene@allsaintstoronto.com by 5:00pm Friday September 20, 2013 to apply for the position and arrange an interview time.

*3 positions available for women (trans inclusive) that have lived experience with sex work, sex trafficking, and/or drug use.

Lost in translation: A trial halts while lawyers search for an acceptable interpreter

2013-09-13T11:23:00.000-04:00

By Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun September 13, 2013

Justice is hard enough to get when everyone speaks the same language. But when they don't, it's fraught with peril.

It's so fraught that at times, like Thursday in B.C. Supreme Court, a trial needs to be stopped until everyone involved is satisfied that what is being said is perfectly understood and perfectly interpreted.

For Mumtaz Ladha, it's particularly crucial. She is accused of human trafficking, employing a foreign national without authorization and misrepresenting facts to both the Canadian High Commission in Tanzania and to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The problem is not that Ladha can't make herself understood. The 60-year-old is a Canadian citizen, who speaks fluent English and Swahili.
It's her alleged victim - a 26-year-old Tanzanian woman with a Grade 8 education - who is having a hard time because she speaks Swahili and only limited English.

Since she began testifying Wednesday, the court-accredited interpreter has struggled to translate both from English into her particular Tanzanian dialect of Swahili and then from Swahili back into English. More:

Roundtable: Building Collaboration to Combat Human Trafficking

2013-09-11T13:18:00.000-04:00

Toronto Counter Human Trafficking Network

Roundtable: Building Collaboration to Combat Human Trafficking in the City of Toronto

Date: 28 and 29 October 2013

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

Time: 9am to 5pm

Fee: $10 (for both days)

This is the first of a series of roundtables aiming to facilitate the dialogue between multi-sector stakeholders to address the issue of human trafficking in the City of Toronto.

Day one

Series of panel presentations by multi‐sector stakeholders who dedicate their work to counter human trafficking followed by a discussion.

Day two

Working group discussions to initiate a dialogue on policy development.

Payment method:

CREDIT CARD go to Eventbrite ($10+$1.59 on line fee): https://antitraffickingroundtableone.eventbrite.com

CASH or CHECK pay at the door

Lunch will be provided

Subsidies are available for people who cannot pay the registration fee

For more information contact:

Varka Kalaydzhieva at 416-469-9754, ext.222 or varka@fcjrefugeecentre.org

The event is funded by the City of Toronto

Invisible Industry: Exposing human trafficking in Canada

2013-09-09T10:04:00.002-04:00

Event: Invisible Industry: Exposing human trafficking in Canada

We Talk Women

Monday, 30 September 2013 from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM (PDT)

Toronto, ON

This event will begin with a documentary screening of The Price of Sex. You can watch a trailer here: www.priceofsex.org

The Price of Sex is a feature-length documentary about young Eastern European women who’ve been drawn into a netherworld of sex trafficking and abuse. Intimate, harrowing and revealing, it is a story told by the young women who were supposed to be silenced by shame, fear and violence.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion on human trafficking in Canada. The panel will include:
Veronica Chail - An OMNI TV host and national advocate for the cause, Veronica brings a voice to the panel that everyone can relate to.

Bridget Perrier - A trafficking survivor and co-founder of Sextrade 101, Bridget will shed light on the reality of trafficking in Canada.

To register, please, click here

[FRRE-THEM] annual FREEDOM WALK

2013-09-03T10:39:00.001-04:00

Name: 4^Th Annual Freedom Walk presented by The Fairmont Royal York hosted by OMNI Television’s Veronica Chail

Register: www.freethemwalk.ca - $12 - under 18 years old are free

Where: The Fairmont Royal York Hotel |100 Front Street W. Toronto

When: Saturday, September 14, 2013

9:00AM | Registration
10:00AM | Honorary Ceremony
11:30AM | 4KM Freedom Walk

Attendees:Civilians: Expected attendance from all over Southern Western Ontario, Ottawa, Quebec, Oxford England, and USA

Law Enforcement Represented: Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Ontario Provincial Police, Niagara Regional Police, Stoney Creek Police, Hamilton Police, Waterloo Police, Halton Regional Police, Peel Regional Police, Ancaster Police, Toronto Police Service.

Canada Border Service Agency

Toronto Crime Stoppers

Political Figures Represented: Member of Parliament Joy Smith, Member of Parliament Terence Young, Toronto City Councillor Shelley Carroll Ward 33

Notable Figures: OMNI Television Host VeronicaChail, CityLine Producer Kate Moore, **Director, Producer and Writer Christopher Bessette, CanadaAM Host Karen Johnson, and Writer Pay Chen, Sex Trafficking Survivor Timea Nagy, Sex Trade Survivor Katarina MacLeod, Actress Zara Durrani and many others!

** Trade of Innocents is a 2012 American madethriller independent film written and directed by Christopher Bessette, and starring Dermot Mulroney,Mira Sorvino, John Billingsley, Trieu Tran. Trade of Innocents was shot on location in Bangkok, Thailand. The film will look to bring awareness and involvement to work against human trafficking

Roundtables to combat human trafficking in Toronto area

2013-08-28T13:28:00.002-04:00

Toronto Counter Human Trafficking Network

Building Collaboration to Combat Human Trafficking in the City of Toronto

A Series of Roundtables

The Roundtables series carried out over several months to facilitate the dialogue between multi-sector stakeholders to address the issue of human trafficking in the City of Toronto. The series will begin with an extended roundtable conference that will bring together multi-sector stakeholders to initiate dialogue and begin to develop protocols and promising practices to offer services and protection tailored to the needs of trafficked persons. The initial roundtable will be followed by two subsequent meetings, to work through longer-term goals, new developments and unforeseen challenges.

Objectives

Establish and foster relations between multi-sector stakeholders;
Develop model for response and collect promising practices in delivering services and protection to trafficked persons corresponding to the particularities of Toronto area;
Initiate policy development on city and provincial level.

Roundtable One

Date: 28 and 29 October 2013
Venue: Toronto Harbour Light Ministries, 160 Jarvis Str. (at Queen Str.)
Time: 9am to 5pm

Day one

Series of panel presentations by multi-sector stakeholders who dedicate their work to counter human trafficking followed by a discussion.

Day two

Working group discussions to initiate a dialogue on policy development and set the stage for the following meetings to work through longer-term goals, new developments and unforeseen challenges

Contacts: For more information, please contact Varka Kalaydzhieva, tel.: 416-469-9754, ext. 222 or at varka@fcjrefugeecentre.org

The project is funded by the City of Toronto

Human-trafficking conviction in nanny’s case hailed as precedent-setting - The Globe and Mail

2013-08-15T14:51:00.001-04:00

Authorities and domestic worker advocacy groups across Canada are applauding this week’s landmark human-trafficking conviction in British Columbia, calling it a precedent-setting victory in the fight against a crime that has seen fewer than 50 guilty verdicts in Canadian history.

Franco Orr, who was accused of keeping Filipina nanny Leticia Sarmiento in domestic servitude in B.C. for nearly two years, was convicted Wednesday of human trafficking, employing a foreign national illegally and misrepresenting facts that could induce an error.

More http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/human-trafficking-conviction-in-nannys-case-hailed-as-precedent-setting/article12881196/

Canada’s National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking - One Year In!

2013-08-14T16:07:00.002-04:00

On June 6th, 2012 Canada launched the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. The Annual Report on the progress made in the implementation of the plan is soon to be released.

More information about the National Action Plan here http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/ntnl-ctn-pln-cmbt/index-eng.aspx.

Couple charged with human trafficking first in London Police history | Metro

2013-08-14T13:35:00.001-04:00

A London man and woman are the first two people in the history of the London Police Service to face charges related to human trafficking.
As a result of what police are calling the Human Trafficking Pilot Project, 36-year-old Steven McDonald and 31-year-old Kristen MacLean, both of London, have been charged with several offences including:
Trafficking in persons by exercising control.
Receiving a financial/material benefit, from the commission of an offence.
Procuring illicit sexual intercourse.
Exercising control over a person for prostitution.
Living on the avails of prostitution of a victim over 18 years of age.
As well, McDonald faces charges of attempting or procuring a person to be a prostitute, sexual assault and giving an intoxicating substance to a person for sex.

More http://metronews.ca/news/london/736428/couple-charged-with-human-trafficking-first-in-london-police-history/

Canadian Council for Refugees new report "Temporary Resident Permits: Limits to Protection for Trafficked Persons"

2013-08-14T12:21:00.000-04:00

In May 2006, the Canadian government issued guidelines for temporary resident permits (TRPs) for trafficked non-citizens. This represented an important step towards recognition of the protection needs of trafficked persons, and TRPs remain the main avenue to protection offered under Canada’s immigration legislation. However, experience has shown that, even with the TRPs, there are continuing gaps in access to protection and rights for trafficked persons. Trafficked persons continue to fall through the cracks.

The CCR has issued a new report, Temporary Resident Permits: Limits to protection for trafficked persons that examines shortcomings of the program, including the following:

· Access to TRPs is limited in practice, and now in law;

· When trafficked persons do receive TRPs, their rights are restricted;

· Options for receiving permanent protection are uncertain;

· Trafficked persons continue to be detained and deported.

While the CCR acknowledges the many positive aspects of the permit, it continues to call for clearer statutory protection for trafficked non-citizens.

The report is available online at: http://ccrweb.ca/en/temporary-resident-permit-report.

U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2013 Released

2013-08-14T11:54:00.004-04:00

On 19 June the U.S. Department of State released its 2013 global report on trafficking in persons. The TIP Report is published every year and provides a summary of almost every country’s response to trafficking as well as their compliance with the U.S. Department of State’s standards. Even though the report considers Canada to be a country that complies with these standards, it urges it to improve on many areas. Some of the recommendations include: in the areas of:

intensify efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, and convict and sentence trafficking offenders using anti-trafficking laws;

enhance specialized care services available to trafficking victims in partnership with civil society and through dedicated funding;

increase use of proactive law enforcement techniques to investigate trafficking cases, including allegations of forced labor;

amplify efforts to educate officials working in law enforcement, immigration, the justice sector, health care, and social work about human trafficking;

strengthen coordination among national and provincial governments on law enforcement and victim services.

Download the Report here http://goo.gl/iQmCXY

Awareness-raising: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has lunched a Blue Heart Campign

2013-08-14T11:01:00.001-04:00

What is the Blue Heart Campaign?

	An awareness raising initiative to fight human trafficking and its impact on society.
	The Blue Heart Campaign seeks to encourage involvement and inspire action to help stop this crime.
	The Campaign also allows people to show solidarity with the victims of human trafficking by wearing the Blue Heart.

___________________________________________

The Blue Heart

The Blue Heart represents the sadness of those who are trafficked while reminding us of the cold-heartedness of those who buy and sell fellow human beings. The use of the blue UN colour also demonstrates the commitment of the United Nations to combating this crime against human dignity.

In the same way that the red ribbon has become the international symbol of HIV/AIDS awareness, this campaign aims to make the Blue Heart into an international symbol against human trafficking. By "wearing"the Blue Heart you will raise awareness of human trafficking and join the campaign to fight this crime.

Follow the Blue Heart

By following the Blue Heart you can change your Facebook profile picture to a Blue Heart, stay connected through Twitter or watch videos on human trafficking on YouTube. Get involved and support the Blue Heart Campaign virtually.

Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Flickr

Campaign website: http://www.unodc.org/blueheart/en/about-us.html

For more information on the Blue Heart Campaign, please contact:

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
PO Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria

E-mail: info@unodc.org

UN Member States appraise Global Action Plan to combat human trafficking

2013-08-14T10:14:00.000-04:00

13 May 2013 – Top United Nations officials are today urging the UN General Assembly to fully implement key anti-human trafficking treaties and to cooperate more closely to counter the multi-billion dollar industry which has trapped some 21 million men, women and children in forced labour.
“No effort must be spared to bring to an end the servitude of millions, while helping the survivors rebuild their lives,” General Assembly President Vuk Jeremic told the opening of the two-day high-level meetings on improving the coordination of efforts against trafficking in persons. He said that human trafficking is now a global criminal enterprise that ensnares millions of people into forced labour and domestic servitude, sexual work and child soldiering. According to 2005 estimates released by the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO), profits generated in the sex industry alone are as high as $32 billion a year. During the high-level meeting, countries will examine progress made on the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. Adopted in 2010, the Plan calls for integrating the fight against human trafficking into the United Nations' broader programmes to boost development and strengthen security around the world.

More http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44885&Cr=trafficking&Cr1=#.UguLeRtza71

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

2013-04-22T10:41:00.002-04:00

(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

Human trafficking in Toronto appears on city’s agenda

2013-04-19T14:51:00.001-04:00

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

By: David Rider Urban Affairs Bureau Chief, Published on Tue Jan 29 2013 (Toronto Star)

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

2013-04-19T01:07:00.002-04:00

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

Date: April 23^th 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)

http://www.fcjrefugeecentre.org/

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