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UNCLAS STATE 060540 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG CA
SUBJECT: CANADA -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND 
DEMARCHE 
 
REF: A. STATE 59732 
     ¶B. STATE 005577 
 
¶1. This is an action cable; see paras 5 through 7 and 10. 
 
¶2. On June 16, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Secretary will 
release the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a 
press conference in the Department's press briefing room. 
This release will receive substantial coverage in domestic 
and foreign news outlets.  Until the time of the Secretary's 
June 16 press conference, any public release of the Report or 
country narratives contained therein is prohibited. 
 
¶3. The Department is hereby providing Post with advance press 
guidance to be used on June 16 or thereafter.  Also provided 
is demarche language to be used in informing the Government 
of Canada of its tier ranking and the TIP Report's imminent 
release.  The text of the TIP Report country narrative is 
provided, both for use in informing the Government of Canada 
and in any local media release by Post's public affairs 
section on June 16 or thereafter.  Drawing on information 
provided below in paras 8 and 9, Post may provide the host 
government with the text of the TIP Report narrative no 
earlier than 1200 noon local time Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, 
EUR, and NEA countries and OOB local time Tuesday June 16 for 
SCA and EAP posts.  Please note, however, that any public 
release of the Report's information should not/not precede 
the Secretary's release at 10:00 am EDT on June 16. 
 
¶4. The entire TIP Report will be available on-line at 
www.state.gov/g/tip shortly after the Secretary's June 16 
release.  Hard copies of the Report will be pouched to posts 
in all countries appearing on the Report.  The Secretary's 
statement at the June 16 press event, and the statement of 
and fielding of media questions by G/TIP,s Director and 
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador-at-Large Luis 
CdeBaca, will be available on the Department's website 
shortly after the June 16 event.  Ambassador de Baca will 
also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign 
embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
¶5. Action Request: No earlier than OOB local time Monday June 
15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA posts and OOB local time on 
Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts, please inform the 
appropriate official in the Government of Canada of the June 
16 release of the 2009 TIP Report, drawing on the points in 
para 9 (at Post's discretion) and including the text of the 
country narrative provided in para 8.  For countries where 
the State Department has lowered the tier ranking, it is 
particularly important to advise governments prior to the 
Report being released in Washington on June 16. 
 
¶6. Action Request continued:  Please note that, for those 
countries which will not receive an "action plan" with 
specific recommendations for improvement, posts should draw 
host governments' attention to the areas for improvement 
identified in the 2009 Report, especially highlighted in the 
"Recommendations" section of the second paragraph of the 
narrative text.  This engagement is important to establishing 
the framework in which the government's performance will be 
judged for the 2010 Report.  If posts have questions about 
which governments will receive an action plan, or how they 
may follow up on the recommendations in the 2009 Report, 
please contact G/TIP and the appropriate regional bureau. 
 
¶7. Action Request continued: On June 16, please be prepared 
to answer media inquiries on the Report's release using the 
press guidance provided in para 11.  If Post wishes, a local 
press statement may be released on or after 10:30 am EDT June 
16, drawing on the press guidance and the text of the TIP 
Report's country narrative provided in para 8. 
 
¶8. Begin Final Text of Canada,s country narrative in the 
2009 TIP Report: 
 
-------------------------------- 
CANADA (TIER 1) 
-------------------------------- 
Canada is a source, transit, and destination country for men, 
women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial 
sexual exploitation and forced labor.  Canadian women and 
girls, many of whom are aboriginal, are trafficked internally 
for commercial sexual exploitation.  Foreign women and 
children, primarily from Asia and Eastern Europe, are 
trafficked to Canada for commercial sexual exploitation, but 
victims from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean also 
have been identified. Many trafficking victims are from 
Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, South Korea, 
the Philippines, Russia, and Ukraine. Asian victims tend to 
be trafficked more frequently to Vancouver and Western 
Canada, while Eastern European and Latin American victims are 
trafficked to Toronto, Montreal, and Eastern Canada.  NGOs 
report that Canada is a destination country for foreign 
victims trafficked for labor exploitation; some labor victims 
enter Canada legally but then are subjected to forced labor 
in agriculture, sweatshops, or as domestic servants.  A 
significant number of victims, particularly South Korean 
females, transit Canada en route to the United States. 
Canada also is a source country for child sex tourists, who 
travel abroad to engage in sex acts with minors.  Canada is 
reported to be a destination country for sex tourists, 
particularly from the United States. 
The Government of Canada fully complies with the minimum 
standards for the elimination of trafficking.  During the 
past year, the Canadian government maintained strong victim 
protection and prevention efforts, and demonstrated modest 
progress in prosecuting and punishing trafficking offenders, 
securing five trafficking-specific convictions during the 
past year.  Law enforcement personnel, however, reported 
difficulties with securing adequate punishments against 
offenders. 
Recommendations for Canada: Intensify efforts to investigate 
and prosecute trafficking offenses, and convict and sentence 
trafficking offenders; increase use of proactive law 
enforcement techniques to investigate trafficking cases, 
including allegations of labor trafficking; increase efforts 
to investigate and prosecute Canadians suspected of 
committing child sex tourism crimes abroad; provide greater 
protection and services for foreign trafficking victims; 
improve coordination among national and provincial 
governments on law enforcement and victim services; and 
improve data collection. 
Prosecution 
----------- 
The Government of Canada demonstrated progress in law 
enforcement actions against human traffickers last year, 
securing the convictions of five offenders under specific 
human trafficking provisions of the Criminal Code passed in 
2005, marking the first convictions under these newer 
sections of the law.   Section 279.01 of the Canadian 
Criminal Code prohibits most  forms of human trafficking, 
prescribing a penalty of up to 14 years, imprisonment.  Such 
penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with 
those for other serious crimes, such as sexual assault. 
Section 118 of Canada,s Immigration and Refugee Protection 
Act, enacted in 2002, prohibits transnational human 
trafficking, prescribing a maximum penalty of life 
imprisonment and a $1 million fine.  Section 279.02 of the 
Criminal Code additionally prohibits a defendant from 
receiving a financial or material benefit from trafficking, 
prescribing up to 10 years, imprisonment.  Withholding or 
destroying a victim,s identification or travel documents to 
facilitate human trafficking is prohibited by Section 279.03, 
punishable by up to five years in prison.  Section 279.04(a) 
defines &exploitation8 for purposes of the trafficking 
offenses as conduct which reasonably causes a victim to 
provide a labor or service because they believe their safety, 
or the safety of a person known to them, is threatened. 
Provincial governments secured the convictions of five 
offenders under trafficking-specific laws during the 
reporting period, obtaining sentences ranging from two to 
eight years, imprisonment.  An additional 12 
anti-trafficking prosecutions were pending before provincial 
courts as of late April 2009, involving 15 accused offenders. 
  This compares to 2007, when provincial governments obtained 
the convictions of three defendants for trafficking-related 
crimes under other laws; and 2006, when provincial 
governments achieved five trafficking-related convictions. 
While the majority of cases prosecuted in 2008 involved 
domestic sex trafficking, the government reported ongoing 
investigations of cases involving forced labor crimes and sex 
trafficking crimes involving foreign victims.  NGOs criticize 
the government,s law enforcement investigation efforts for 
not being proactive, particularly in terms of searching for 
victims and trafficking activity, especially in the labor 
exploitation context, since many foreign victims appear to 
enter Canada legally and are seldom identified when passing 
through immigration.   Moreover, Canada,s law enforcement 
efforts reportedly suffer from a lack of coordination between 
the national government, and provincial and local 
authorities, which prosecuted most human trafficking cases. 
Last year the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) maintained 
anti-trafficking training efforts, and there were no reports 
of trafficking-related complicity by Canadian officials. 
Protection 
The government maintained protections for trafficking victims 
during the reporting period.  Victim support services in 
Canada are generally administered at the provincial level. 
While each province or territory provides services for crime 
victims, including trafficking victims, they follow different 
models, sometimes leading to an uneven provision of services. 
 However, most jurisdictions provided access to shelter 
services, short-term counseling, court assistance, and 
specialized services, such as child victim witness assistance 
and rape counseling. Canada funded domestic NGOs, in addition 
to a national Victim,s Fund, which made monies available to 
NGOs to fill in gaps in services for crime victims, including 
trafficking victims.  Some NGOs and faith-based organizations 
have urged greater government support for trafficking 
victims, arguing that they have provided most victims, 
especially foreign trafficking victims, with shelter and 
services without government assistance.  Undocumented foreign 
trafficking victims in Canada may apply for a temporary 
resident permit (TRP) to remain in the country.   Fifteen 
trafficking victims received TRPs last year.  During a 
180-day reflection period, immigration officials determine 
whether a longer residency period of up to three years should 
be granted. Victims also may apply for fee-exempt work 
permits. TRP holders have access to essential and emergency 
medical care, dental care, and trauma counseling.  However, 
some NGOs report difficulties with foreign trafficking 
victims securing TRPs and gaining access to services; some 
foreign trafficking victims reportedly elected to apply for 
refugee status instead of a TRP, claiming more secure 
benefits and an immigration status with which immigration 
officials appeared more familiar.  Victims, rights are 
generally respected in Canada, and victims are not penalized 
for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked, 
though some NGOs have reported that some foreign trafficking 
victims have been arrested and deported without first being 
identified as victims.  Canadian authorities encourage but do 
not require trafficking victims to participate in 
investigations and prosecutions of trafficking offenders. 
The government provided formal court assistance, in addition 
to the use of closed circuit television testimony and other 
victim-sensitive approaches to facilitate victims furnishing 
evidence.  The provinces of Quebec, Ontario, British 
Columbia, and Manitoba have established witness protection 
programs, but data is not available on the number of 
trafficking victims who have utilized this service. Law 
enforcement, immigration, and consular officials receive 
specialized training to identify trafficking victims. 
Prevention 
The government maintained strong anti-trafficking prevention 
efforts last year.  The RCMP continued to conduct widespread 
awareness-raising activities, reaching approximately 4,000 
civil society members, in addition to distributing 
anti-trafficking materials to law enforcement.  The federal 
government partnered with the Canadian Crime Stoppers 
Association to launch a national awareness campaign 
encouraging the public to report suspected cases of human 
trafficking to a national toll-free hotline.  The government 
funded a national charitable organization to pursue leads 
about suspected child predators on the Internet. The federal 
government provided a grant to the Assembly of Manitoba 
Chiefs to combat trafficking of aboriginal women and 
children.  The Canadian immigration agency provided pamphlets 
and information to temporary foreign workers, including 
live-in caregivers, to let them know where to seek assistance 
in case of exploitation or abuse, as well as to recipients of 
&exotic dancer8 visas * which have been used to facilitate 
trafficking in the past * to inform them of their rights. 
Last year Canadian officials issued 14 exotic dancer permits, 
down from 15 in 2007 and 22 in 2006. 
Canada is a source country for child sex tourists, and the 
country prohibits its nationals from engaging in child sex 
tourism through Section 7(4.1) of its Criminal Code. This law 
has extraterritorial application, and carries penalties up to 
14 years in prison.  Since 1997, approximately 110 formal 
charges have been filed against Canadians suspected of 
sexually exploiting children in foreign countries.  Last year 
the Canadian government obtained the convictions of two 
offenders for sexually abusing young orphans in Haiti; the 
defendants were sentencied to two and three years, 
imprisonment.   Canada,s Department of Foreign Affairs 
distributes a publication entitled &Bon Voyage, But(8 to 
warn Canadians traveling abroad about penalties under 
Canada,s child sex tourism law.  The federal 
Interdepartmental Working Group on Trafficking in Persons is 
coordinating with British Columbia's Office to Combat 
Trafficking In Persons, the Vancouver Police, and the 
Vancouver Olympic Committee to incorporate anti-trafficking 
measures into the Olympics, broader security plan.  The RCMP 
has six regional human trafficking awareness coordinators 
across the country including one based in Vancouver 
responsible for maintaining relationships with law 
enforcement and other partners.  The RCMP recently updated 
its outreach and awareness materials, and is providing a 
human trafficking tool-kit to law enforcement officers across 
the country.  Canada,s Department of National Defense 
follows NATO policy on combating trafficking in persons, and 
provides anti-trafficking information to Canadian military 
forces prior to their deployment on international 
peacekeeping missions. 
 
¶9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer 
technical and legal background on the TIP Report process, to 
the host government as a non-paper with the above TIP Report 
country narrative: 
 
(begin non-paper) 
 
-- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA), 
requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to 
Congress.  The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and 
create partnerships around the world in the fight against 
modern-day slavery.  The USG approach to combating human 
trafficking follows the TVPA and the standards set forth in 
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the 
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized 
Crime (commonly known as the "Palermo Protocol").  The TVPA 
and the Palermo Protocol recognize that this is a crime in 
which the victims, labor or services (including in the "sex 
industry") are obtained or maintained through force, fraud, 
or coercion, whether overt or through psychological 
manipulation.  While much attention has focused on 
international flows, both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol 
focus on the exploitation of the victim, and do not require a 
showing that the victim was moved. 
 
-- Recent amendments to the TVPA removed the requirement that 
only countries with a "significant number" of trafficking 
victims be included in the Report. Beginning with the 2009 
TIP Report, countries determined to be a country of origin, 
transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of 
trafficking are included in the Report and assigned to one of 
three tiers.  Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum 
standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking" 
set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1.  Countries 
assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards, 
but making significant efforts to meet those minimum 
standards are classified as Tier 2.  Countries assessed as 
neither complying with the minimum standards nor making 
significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3. 
 
-- The TVPA also requires the Secretary of State to provide a 
"Special Watch List" to Congress later in the year. 
Anti-trafficking efforts of the countries on this list are to 
be evaluated again in an Interim Assessment that the 
Secretary of State must provide to Congress by February 1 of 
each year.  Countries are included on the "Special Watch 
List" if they move up in "tier" rankings in the annual TIP 
Report -- from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 ) or if they have been 
placed on the Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
-- Tier 2 Watch List consists of Tier 2 countries determined: 
(1) not to have made "increasing efforts" to combat human 
trafficking over the past year; (2) to be making significant 
efforts based on commitments of anti-trafficking reforms over 
the next year, or (3) to have a very significant number of 
trafficking victims or a significantly increasing victim 
population.  As indicated in reftel B, the TVPRA of 2008 
contains a provision requiring that a country that has been 
included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after 
the date of enactment of the TVPRA of 2008 be ranked as Tier 
¶3.  Thus, any automatic downgrade to Tier 3 pursuant to this 
provision would take place, at the earliest, in the 2011 TIP 
Report (i.e., a country would have to be ranked Tier 2 Watch 
List in the 2009 and 2010 Reports before being subject to 
Tier 3 in the 2011 Report).  The new law allows for a waiver 
of this provision for up to two additional years upon a 
determination by the President that the country has developed 
and devoted sufficient resources to a written plan to make 
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the 
minimum standards. 
 
-- Countries classified as Tier 3 may be subject to statutory 
restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on 
non-humanitarian and non-trade-related foreign assistance 
and, in some circumstances, withholding of funding for 
participation by government officials or employees in 
educational and cultural exchange programs.   In addition, 
the President could instruct the U.S. executive directors to 
international financial institutions to oppose loans or other 
utilization of funds (other than for humanitarian, 
trade-related or certain types of development assistance) 
with respect to countries on Tier 3.  Countries classified as 
Tier 3 that take strong action within 90 days of the Report's 
release to show significant efforts against trafficking in 
persons, and thereby warrant a reassessment of their Tier 
classification, would avoid such sanctions.  Guidelines for 
such actions are in the DOS-crafted action plans to be shared 
by Posts with host governments. 
 
-- The 2009 TIP Report, issuing as it does in the midst of 
the global financial crisis, highlights high levels of 
trafficking for forced labor in many parts of the world and 
systemic contributing factors to this phenomenon:  fraudulent 
recruitment practices and excessive recruiting fees in 
workers, home countries; the lack of adequate labor 
protections in both sending and receiving countries; and the 
flawed design of some destination countries, "sponsorship 
systems" that do not give foreign workers adequate legal 
recourse when faced with conditions of forced labor.  As the 
May 2009 ILO Global Report on Forced Labor concluded, forced 
labor victims suffer approximately $20 billion in losses, and 
traffickers, profits are estimated at $31 billion.  The 
current global financial crisis threatens to increase the 
number of victims of forced labor and increase the associated 
"cost of  coercion." 
 
-- The text of the TVPA and amendments can be found on 
website . 
 
-- On June 16, 2009, the Secretary of State will release the 
ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State 
Department.  We are providing you an advance copy of your 
country's narrative in that report.  Please keep this 
information embargoed until 10:00 am Washington DC time June 
¶16.  The State Department will also hold a general briefing 
for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June 
17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
(end non-paper) 
 
¶10. Posts should make sure that the relevant country 
narrative is readily available on or though the Mission's web 
page in English and appropriate local language(s) as soon as 
possible after the TIP Report is released.  Funding for 
translation costs will be handled as it was for the Human 
Rights Report.  Posts needing financial assistance for 
translation costs should contact their regional bureau,s EX 
office. 
 
¶11. The following is press guidance provided for Post to use 
with local media. 
 
Q1: Why was Canada again given a ranking of Tier 1? 
 
A:  The Government of Canada fully complies with the minimum 
standards for the elimination of trafficking.  During the 
past year, the Canadian government maintained strong victim 
protection and prevention efforts, and demonstrated modest 
progress in prosecuting and punishing trafficking offenders, 
securing five trafficking-specific convictions during the 
past year.  Law enforcement personnel, however, reported 
difficulties with securing adequate punishments against 
offenders. 
 
Q2: What is the nature of Canada,s trafficking problem? 
 
A:  Canada is a source, transit, and destination country for 
men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of 
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.  Canadian 
women and girls, many of whom are aboriginal, are trafficked 
internally for commercial sexual exploitation.  Foreign women 
and children, primarily from Asia and Eastern Europe, are 
trafficked to Canada for commercial sexual exploitation, but 
victims from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean also 
have been identified. Many trafficking victims are from 
Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, South Korea, 
the Philippines, Russia, and Ukraine. Asian victims tend to 
be trafficked more frequently to Vancouver and Western 
Canada, while Eastern European and Latin American victims are 
trafficked to Toronto, Montreal, and Eastern Canada.  NGOs 
report that Canada is a destination country for foreign 
victims trafficked for labor exploitation; some labor victims 
enter Canada legally but then are subjected to forced labor 
in agriculture, sweatshops, or as domestic servants.  A 
significant number of victims, particularly South Korean 
females, transit Canada en route to the United States. 
Canada also is a source country for child sex tourists, who 
travel abroad to engage in sex acts with minors.  Canada is 
reported to be a destination country for sex tourists, 
particularly from the United States. 
 
Q3:  What, if anything, can Canada do to improve its 
anti-trafficking efforts? 
 
A: To advance its efforts to combat human trafficking, the 
Government of Canada could:  intensify efforts to investigate 
and prosecute trafficking offenses, and convict and sentence 
trafficking offenders; increase use of proactive law 
enforcement techniques to investigate trafficking cases, 
including allegations of labor trafficking; increase efforts 
to investigate and prosecute Canadians suspected of 
committing child sex tourism crimes abroad; provide greater 
protection and services for foreign trafficking victims; 
improve coordination among national and provincial 
governments on law enforcement and victim services; and 
improve data collection. 
 
¶12. Post may want to highlight the work of Ben Perrin, a Hero 
in the Global Effort to Combat Trafficking in Persons honored 
by the Secretary of State in her 2009 TIP Report, in its 
engagement of local media. 
 
Benjamin Perrin is a leading anti-trafficking activist in 
Canada and founder of The Future Group, an NGO dedicated to 
combating human trafficking and the child sex trade around 
the world.  Mr. Perrin has advocated for the adoption of a 
Canadian national action plan and has pushed for stronger 
enforcement and more effective victim services.  His 2006 
report on Canada,s treatment of victims led to the provision 
of temporary residence permits and medical assistance to 
trafficking victims.  Mr. Perrin is the chair of the 
University of British Columbia,s human trafficking working 
group.  He has testified before Parliament on trafficking 
issues and consulted on the development of the 2008 Rio de 
Janeiro Pact against sexual exploitation of children.  His 
investigations have identified a nationwide sex trafficking 
ring and dozens of cases in which Canada has been a transit 
and destination country.  Mr. Perrin has several ongoing 
research projects that will provide Canada,s first 
comprehensive account of human trafficking and propose 
concrete policy recommendations to increase the prosecution 
of traffickers and the protection of victims. 
 
¶13. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON