2024 Human Trafficking National Strategy Needs an Extension, Perpetuity, and Unilateral Response

BACKGOUND:Human trafficking is an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The constant movement traffickers use to exploit their victims helps them elude law enforcement and makes it nearly impossible for the victim to even know where they are. As most victims are trafficked for sexual purposes within Canada, city to city and province to province, the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking published by the Government of Canada in 2016 concluded that there must be an inter-jurisdictional plan of coordination if there is to be improved enforcement and conviction. (Government of Canada, 2016).
The National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking consolidated federal activities into a comprehensive plan. When this Plan expired in 2016, the issue was addressed by establishing the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking. (Government of Canada, 2019). The expiration of this Strategy in 2024 is of concern. Canada needs federal coordination and oversight to strengthen pan-Canadian inter-jurisdictional prevention, intervention, awareness, and prosecutions to achieve national crime reduction and community support goals. This Strategy needs to be extended with input from stakeholders to ensure an effective plan to deal with this horrific issue.