The majority of human-trafficking convictions in Canada between 2005 and 2009 involved victims who were brought to Canada to work in the illegal sex trade, RCMP say in a new report.

The report, entitled "Human Trafficking in Canada: A Threat Assessment," was prepared for the RCMP's Immigration and Passport Branch to provide the Mounties with an overview of human trafficking activities in Canada, as well as the extent of organized crime involvement in the practice.

Looking at data from investigations between 2005 and 2009 that had human trafficking elements, the Mounties found that:

  • Recent convictions for human trafficking have mostly involved victims who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada "trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation."
  • Human trafficking for sexual exploitation is largely associated with organized prostitution occurring behind fronts, such as escort agencies and residential brothels.
  • Many human trafficking suspects are linked to other organized crime activities, such as credit card, mortgage and immigration fraud, prostitution and conspiracy to commit murder.

The report found that human traffickers exploit Canada's immigration policies to bring foreign workers into the sex trade. Criminal groups use passports from travel visa-exempt countries, such as Israel, Estonia, Latvia and Korea, to bring victims to Canada.

The report also says the majority of Asian nationals found working in bawdy houses arrived in Canada on visitor or student visas, and many had stayed past their expiration dates.

"Many victims or potential victims in human trafficking investigations believed that if they did not comply to exploitation, their employers would have been capable of inflicting harm on family members in Canada or overseas," said an executive summary of the report. "While those engaged in sex work feared that their employers would disclose to their families that they were prostituting in Canada."

While the report detailed the plights of foreign victims of human trafficking, it also analyzed domestic human trafficking cases and found that many victims were recruited through the Internet or via an acquaintance. "The victims were groomed, manipulated and coerced to enter the sex trade," according to the report summary. Some of the Canadian-born victims were underage girls recruited to work in dance clubs or escort services.

The report outlined several challenges for investigators probing human trafficking, including the fact that few victims will co-operate with law enforcement due to fear for their own safety or that of their families, distrust of police and shame or embarrassment. The report cited an Interpol Working Group document that estimated "significantly less then one half of one per cent of…victims agree to co-operate with police and enter a court room to testify against their traffickers."

It also called for a national strategy for investigating and prosecuting suspected human traffickers and for greater public awareness about the problem.

The report suggested:

  • Law enforcement be given the necessary resources to conduct proactive investigations into criminal enterprises, rather than solely relying on victim testimony.
  • Establishing information-sharing processes among law-enforcement agencies to identify suspected traffickers and their victims in a more timely manner.

"Decisions makers and managers need to understand the complexities surrounding the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking so as to implement a strategy which will provide proper resources and support to the front line," the report said.

Human trafficking expert Benjamin Perrin, a law professor at the University of British Columbia, said the report shows that a strategy to clamp down on human traffickers is needed.

"Violent criminals are preying on Canadian girls as young as fourteen and the RCMP is telling us that a strategy and greater resources are needed to combat this atrocious crime," Perrin said in a statement released through his publisher, Penguin Group Canada. "The federal government should act without delay to implement these recommendations."