Wynne Government’s Announcement on Human Trafficking too Little to Save The Girl Next Door

QUEEN’S PARK – MPP Laurie Scott, PC Critic for Women’s Issues, is disappointed with the Wynne Government’s announcement today on human trafficking.  

 

“Today’s announcement does not commit to permanent multi-year funding of an anti-human trafficking strategy,” said Scott. “This glaring omission tells all those dedicated to the fight against human trafficking that the Wynne Government is not truly serious about tackling this heinous crime.” 

While today’s announcement is a step in the right direction, the Wynne Government has shown by its past behaviour that it is quick to make promises, but fails to deliver. Records obtained through a Freedom of Information request reveal that only $190,997 of the $1.95 million committed in 2011 was actually directed to support community agencies fighting human trafficking. Furthermore, today’s announcement sets no firm deadlines for the actual establishment of a multijurisdictional and multi-disciplinary task force.  

The Wynne Government had promised that this strategy would be robust. But without permanent funding and firm deadlines, there are no assurances that the tireless efforts of police officers and victim service providers will be supported in years to come to save the girl next door in communities across Ontario. 

Scott was particularly disappointed that the Wynne Government did not commit to passing her Bill 158, Saving the Girl Next Door Act. In the recently released U.S. State Department’s 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report, Ontario was singled out for its lack of protection laws for children 16 and over, “leaving them vulnerable to recruitment into sex trafficking.”

“Without the protection orders provided for in Bill 158, police officers and frontline workers will not have the tools to rescue girls over the age of 15. I will continue to fight against sex trafficking in Ontario so that our girls and young women can grow up free from the grips of sexual exploitation,” concluded Scott.

 

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