By Public Safety Canada

The National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (National Strategy) is a five-year (2019-2024) strategy aiming to strengthen Canada’s response to human trafficking. It follows from the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking which expired in 2016. The National Strategy is a whole of government endeavour that aligns efforts with the internationally recognized pillars of prevention, protection, prosecution and partnership. Canada has added a fifth pillar, empowerment, to enhance support and services to victims and survivors of human trafficking. The activities under the pillars are the responsibility of many partner departments and agencies. Several partner departments and agencies received funding for activities specific to the National Strategy. These include, Public Safety Canada (PS), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC), Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). Other departments and agencies supported efforts under the National Strategy with pre-established funding. These partners are the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Justice Canada (JUS), and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). Additionally, Statistics Canada (StatsCan) receives funding from PS for activities that support the National Strategy, including data collection and research projects.

The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the National Strategy. The evaluation covered the period from fiscal year 2019-2020 to 2022-2023 and was conducted in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Results and the Directive on Results.    

Ottawa: Public Safety Canada 2024. 50p

  By The Task Force

  The United States government is committed to combating human trafficking at home and around the world. The particular problem of forced labor on fishing vessels on the high seas – a form of human trafficking – has emerged as an especially vexing challenge to policymakers, enforcement officials, and worker advocates. This is a particular challenge due in part to the physical isolation of those workplaces and the complex legal and jurisdictional issues on the high seas. While this report focuses on legal and jurisdictional issues, it is important to bear in mind the situation of workers victimized by human trafficking. Understanding the human suffering of victims is paramount in designing an effective – and a morally sound – policy solution. Fishing workers, often from impoverished backgrounds, have left their families and support systems behind in order to work long hours in difficult and dangerous conditions in hopes of earning enough money to create a better life. When a worker instead confronts physical or psychological abuse and punishing debt, and loses hope of finding the better life they were looking for, the lasting psychological, physical and financial harm can be incalculable. Due to ongoing concern in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government, Congress in March of 2018 directed the Department of Justice to convene an interagency task force to examine legal and jurisdictional issues related to human trafficking on fishing vessels in international waters and to make recommendations for executive and legislative action to address this scourge.

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2021. 51p.