VZCZCXRO7236
PP RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHMT RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #0487/01 1742121
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 232121Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9595
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAORC/US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEADRO/HQ ICE DRO WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEPICA/USCIS WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 000487 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP (FLECK), INL, WHA/CAN, WHA/PDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KTIP KPAO KMDR SMIG KCRM KWMN ELAB
CA 
SUBJECT: TIP REPORT MAKES HEADLINES AROUND CANADA 
 
REF: STATE 60540 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  The 2009 Trafficking In Persons (TIP) 
report received widespread media coverage in Canada, thanks 
largely to the selection of Canada's first ever TIP hero, 
Benjamin Perrin.  ConGen Vancouver took maximum advantage of 
this opportunity by organizing a press conference and booking 
Perrin's appearances on a wide range of television and radio 
programs.  Newspapers and media outlets across the country 
covered the report's conclusions.  The Embassy, British 
Columbia Ministry of Public Safety, and Member of Parliament 
Joy Smith all released statements congratulating Perrin on 
his selection and highlighting various sections of the 
report.  The Department of Foreign Affairs expressed 
satisfaction that Canada maintained its tier one status, and 
noted that Canada is committed to improving its prosecution 
and enforcement.  On June 23 the CDA hosted a Mission Canada 
DVC with Ambassador Luis CdeBaca that included MP Smith, 
Senator Mobina Jaffer, Perrin, and over 65 government, law 
enforcement and NGO contacts participating from Vancouver, 
Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, raising 
several areas for strengthening U.S.-Canadian cooperation in 
combating TIP.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On June 15 Poloff delivered reftel TIP report to 
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Policy 
Advisor Graeme Hamilton.  Hamilton expressed satisfaction and 
relief that Canada maintained its Tier 1 status, and noted 
that Canada is committed to improving its prosecution and 
enforcement performance. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  On June 16 ConGen Vancouver organized a press 
conference and series of high-level press events for TIP Hero 
and University of British Columbia law professor Benjamin 
Perrin, who appeared on national, regional, local and ethnic 
television and radio programs.  Thanks to Consulate 
Vancouver's efforts, on June 16-17 Perrin appeared on CBC 
News, CTV, City TV, Shaw TV, OMNI TV,  Fairchild TV, Canada 
AM, and Chinese-language "Ming Pao" and "Sing Tao."  His 
radio interviews included one with CBC Radio which aired in 
Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Saint John, 
Whitehorse, and Charlottetown, and others with local talk 
radio stations in Vancouver and Calgary.  Embassy Ottawa 
issued a press release congratulating Perrin on his 
selection, timed to coincide with the Secretary's June 16 
report roll-out in Washington.  Print coverage resulting from 
ConGen Vancouver's media event with Perrin included reports 
in the Vancouver Sun, Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, Ottawa 
Citizen, Brandon Sun, Bugle-Observer, Pictou Country, Nova 
Scotia News, Lethbridge Herald, Medicine Hat News, Orleans 
Star, CanadaEast.com, and the Province (Vancouver). 
 
¶4.  (U)  British Columbia's (BC) Ministry of Public Safety 
and Solicitor General also issued a press release 
congratulating Perrin and noting that BC's Office to Combat 
TIP was cited in the report for its role in coordinating 
anti-trafficking measures for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. 
While congratulating Perrin, MP Joy Smith's 
(Kildonan-St.Paul) press statement echoed the report's 
comments on the difficulties faced by law enforcement with 
securing adequate punishments against offenders, and 
Qsecuring adequate punishments against offenders, and 
recommended improved coordination among national and 
provincial governments on law enforcement and victim 
services.  Smith's statement called upon Canada to develop 
and implement a national strategy to combat TIP. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Charge d'Affaires Terry Breese hosted a Mission 
Canada DVC on June 23 with Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, director 
of G/TIP, that included over 65 federal and provincial 
government officials, law enforcement officials, and NGO 
contacts participating from Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, 
Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.  Ambassador CdeBaca provided an 
overview of the 2009 TIP report, Attorney General's report on 
USG efforts to combat TIP, the latest U.S. and international 
counter-trafficking efforts, and the impact of the global 
economic crisis.  Ambassador CdeBaca also described how the 
U.S. had tightened laws regulating unscrupulous labor 
brokers.  MP Joy Smith and Senator Mobina Jaffer (British 
Columbia) described their legislative efforts to combat human 
trafficking in the House of Commons and Senate, including 
Smith's Bill C-268 that would introduce mandatory minimum 
sentences of five years for trafficking of anyone under 18 
 
OTTAWA 00000487  002 OF 002 
 
 
years old.  Smith and several other activists expressed 
support for implementation of a Canadian TIP action plan. 
TIP Hero Ben Perrin suggested that the U.S. and Canada update 
their joint cross-border threat assessment of human 
trafficking and organized crime.  Perrin also suggested 
developing "sister city" and "sister region" networks across 
the U.S.-Canadian border to find common solutions to similar 
challenges.  A Winnipeg representative of the Assembly of 
Manitoba Chiefs noted that 80 pct of exploited children in 
Winnipeg are of aboriginal descent and that domestic 
trafficking is a serious problem. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Comment:  Thanks largely to the selection of the 
first ever Canadian TIP Hero, this year's report generated 
more coverage than any other in recent memory.  This 
publicity will further reinforce the commonly held view among 
NGO activists of the TIP report as a key benchmark for 
measuring the government's performance, and will hopefully 
contribute to greater public attention to this issue. The 
June 23rd DVC bringing together Canada's key parliamentary, 
governmental, law enforcement and NGO stake-holders, helped 
build U.S.-Canadian dialogue on combating TIP. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Post thanks G/TIP for authorizing us to provide an 
embargoed copy of the report to the Vancouver Sun columnist, 
ensuring widespread national coverage of the report's 
release, and for organizing the June 23rd DVC.  In responding 
proactively to both of these requests, we advanced our close 
partnership with Canadian interlocutors to reinforce and 
amplify our message. 
 
¶8.  (U)  ConGen Vancouver contributed to this cable. 
 
Visit Canada,s North American partnership community at 
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
 
BREESE