Ottawa - Cathy McLeod, Member of Parliament for Kamloops – Thompson – Cariboo met with participants of the Not For Sale Campaign’s Global Advocacy Days yesterday on Parliament Hill. This group is advocating for legislation which addresses human trafficking and forced labour, both in Canada and abroad. Notably, March 25th was the 203rd Anniversary of the passing of the Slave Trade Act by the British Parliament, resulting in the eventual end of the Atlantic Slave Trade.

“The presentations by my colleague MP Joy Smith and Dr. David Batstone, an internationally renowned author and founder of the Not For Sale Campaign, called for increased bi-partisan efforts to combat human trafficking and slavery,” said McLeod.

Among the leading concerns raised by anti-human trafficking advocates was the passage of MP Joy Smith’s Bill C-268, and the development and implementation of a national action plan to combat human trafficking, and increased protection and resources for victims of human trafficking.

“Most people don’t realize that human trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes and that it does take place in Canada. Recently, in the shadow of Parliament Hill, three young girls were trafficked from an Ottawa shelter to an apartment in Gatineau where they were beaten, raped, drugged and forced into sex slavery for months. Situations like this are occurring across Canada,” stated McLeod.

According to the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report, in 2006 it was estimated that 800 people were being trafficked into Canada each year, and an additional 1500-2200 were trafficked through Canada into the US.

“I’m pleased to see that Bill C-268 has passed the House of Commons with support from the Conservative, Liberal and NDP parties and is now in the Senate. It’s certainly about time that we have mandatory minimum prison sentences for individuals convicted of trafficking young people,” concluded McLeod.