Permanent Anti-trafficking Strategy With Annual Reports

Summary#

This bill would require the federal Minister of Public Safety to keep Canada’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking in place, update it, and report on progress each year. It sets what the strategy must include, requires regular public reviews, and ties the work to Canada’s international obligations. The focus includes prevention, survivor support, training, justice-system capacity, and coordination across governments and partners.

• Makes the National Strategy a legal, ongoing requirement, with clear content and timelines (National Strategy (1), Content (3)).
• Requires a public review within 2 years of coming into force and every 5 years after, plus an annual report within 3 months after each fiscal year (Review (1), Annual report (1)).
• Centers survivor leadership, including a Survivor Advisory Committee and a Special Advisor who are people with lived experience (Content (3)(j)).
• Calls for awareness campaigns, culturally and linguistically sensitive services, and a public website with research and resources (Content (3)(c)–(d), (g)).
• Directs training for federal employees and trauma‑informed improvements to investigations and prosecutions (Content (3)(e), (h)).
• Aims to meet obligations under UN human rights and anti‑trafficking agreements (Obligations (2)).

What it means for you#

• Households

  • Expect more public awareness campaigns to recognize signs of trafficking and how to respond (Content (3)(c)(i)).
  • A federal website will centralize information, research, and resources for communities (Content (3)(g)).
  • During each review, anyone can submit written comments to Public Safety’s website (Review (2)(a)).

• Individuals with lived experience (survivors)

  • The strategy must include measures to help regain independence and reintegrate into the community, taking recovery factors into account (Content (3)(a)).
  • Survivor leadership is built in: the Survivor Advisory Committee and the Special Advisor to the Minister must be people with lived experience (Content (3)(j)).
  • The review must prioritize human rights and trauma‑informed approaches, and value survivor expertise (Review (3), (4)(e), (4)(f)).

• At‑risk groups

  • The strategy must promote culturally and linguistically sensitive supports for groups vulnerable to trafficking, including Indigenous, Black and Asian women and girls, at‑risk youths, and migrants (Content (3)(d)).

• Workers (federal employees)

  • Ongoing, trauma‑informed training and resources will be required (Content (3)(h)).

• Law enforcement and justice system

  • Increased capacity to identify and prosecute human trafficking cases, using a trauma‑informed approach (Content (3)(e)).
  • Expanded national and international cooperation and sharing of best practices (Content (3)(f)).

• Provincial, territorial, and municipal governments

  • Formal consultation opportunities during each review, and participation in coordination efforts; no direct mandates or penalties (Review (2)(b), Content (3)(f)).

• Timing

  • First public review within 2 years of the Act coming into force; every 5 years after (Review (1)).
  • Annual implementation report due within 3 months after each fiscal year; tabled in Parliament within the first 15 sitting days; published online within 10 days after tabling in both Houses (Annual report (1)–(2), Publication (6)).

Expenses#

Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• No explicit funding or appropriations are in the bill (Bill text).
• The bill creates ongoing duties: maintain and update the strategy; run awareness campaigns; train federal staff; build and maintain a public website; conduct consultations; monitor progress; and produce annual and periodic review reports (Content (3), Review (1)–(2), Annual report (1)).
• Administrative and program costs would fall mainly on Public Safety Canada and partner departments; amounts are not stated in the bill. Data unavailable.
• Any savings from prevention or prosecutions are not estimated. Data unavailable.

Proponents' View#

• Locks in a permanent national approach with clear accountability: mandatory strategy, annual reports, and recurring public reviews (Review (1), Annual report (1)).
• Centers survivor leadership and trauma‑informed practice, which may improve relevance and uptake of services (Content (3)(j); Review (3), (4)(e)).
• Strengthens prevention by funding‑adjacent measures like targeted awareness and addressing root causes such as poverty and discrimination (Content (3)(c)).
• Improves justice outcomes by directing trauma‑informed identification and prosecution of cases (Content (3)(e)).
• Enhances coordination across governments and internationally, reducing duplication and sharing best practices (Content (3)(f)).
• Aligns federal work with Canada’s obligations under key UN treaties on trafficking, women’s rights, and children’s rights (Obligations (2)).

Opponents' View#

• No dedicated funding; creates new duties (training, website, campaigns, consultations, reporting) without appropriations, risking unfunded mandates and limited impact (Content (3)(c)–(i); Annual report (1)).
• Standards like “make every reasonable effort” and broad aims may be hard to enforce or measure, leading to compliance‑heavy but output‑light activity (Obligations (2); National Strategy (1)).
• Broad scope to address root causes (poverty, sexism, racism) could dilute focus on trafficking enforcement and duplicate other social programs (Content (3)(c)(ii)).
• Administrative burden: frequent consultations, recurring reviews, and tight reporting timelines may divert staff and resources from front‑line work (Review (1)–(2); Annual report (1)).
• Requiring the Special Advisor and all Survivor Advisory Committee members to be people with lived experience may narrow the pool of candidates and exclude other expertise; effectiveness will depend on implementation (Content (3)(j)).
• Monitoring and public website duties imply new data and performance systems, but the bill gives no methods, metrics, or privacy guidance, creating risk of uneven reporting (Content (3)(g), (3)(i)).