Feature in the e-Handbook on Legislating against Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking and Forced Labour
March 31, 2020
On March 31, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK (CPA UK) launched the second volume of the e-Handbook on Legislating against Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking & Forced Labour, which is a comprehensive resource for parliamentarians and parliamentary officials on legislating effectively against modern slavery-related crimes.
Due to the cross-party efforts of the APPG, we were invited to submit a case study featuring our work and activities to combat modern slavery and human trafficking.
Survivor Panel on Parliament Hill
March 10, 2020
On March 10, the APPG hosted a panel of survivors and experts for an event entitled “Sex Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation in Canada: Roots, Realities & Solutions.” It was a packed room for these powerful panelists, with over 30 MPs and Senators and over 100 participants in total. Panelists included Diane Redsky, a First Nations Leader in Winnipeg with over 20-years dedicated to addressing the sexual exploitation/trafficking of women and girls; Valérie Pelletier, a survivor of prostitution, radical feminist, and public speaker from Montréal; Cherry Smiley, a feminist from the Nlaka’pamux and Diné Nations who was a frontline anti-violence worker and is currently a PhD Candidate at Concordia University; Hennes Doltze, a program manager with the Salvation Army Correctional and Justice Services Winnipeg and works with men who have exploited vulnerable people for sex; and Trisha Baptie, who was in the sex industry for 15 years, is a citizen journalist covering the Robert Pickton trial and is the founder of EVE – formerly Exploited Voices now Educating.
Demonstration at MindGeek HQ
March 8, 2020
On March 8, International Women’s Day, APPG Co-Chair Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne spoke at a demonstration in front of MindGeek’s Canadian headquarters in Montréal, where women’s groups, sexual exploitation survivors, and anti-human trafficking organizations gathered to protest the availability of videos of child sexual exploitation and of sex trafficking victims on MindGeek websites, like Pornhub—the world’s most popular porn website.
The following day, a letter was sent to the Prime Minister to draw his attention to the activities of MindGeek by a group of Senators and MPs including the APPG Co-Chairs.
Briefing by the International Justice and Human Rights Clinic on the Transparency in Supply Chains Act
April, 2019
Members of the International Justice and Human Rights Clinic (IJHRC) at the Peter A. Allard School of Law traveled to Ottawa to brief the APPG to End Modern Slavery on proposed legislation entitled the Transparency in Supply Chains Act (TSCA). The IJHRC drafted the TSCA as a comprehensive model regulatory framework for human rights protection in the operations of Canadian businesses abroad.
National Human Trafficking Hotline Launch
May 29, 2019
When the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking launched Canada’s first ever National Human Trafficking Hotline, the APPG highlighted this milestone through a press release, a congratulatory letter and a statement in the House of Commons.
Mr. Arnold Viersen (Peace River—Westlock):
Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a historic day in the fight against human trafficking in Canada. I am pleased to announce that the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking launched Canada’s first-ever national human trafficking hotline. It is a confidential, multilingual service, operating 24-7, 365 days a year.
APPG Hosts Timea Nagy on Parliament Hill
June 3, 2019
The APPG hosted two presentations on human trafficking by Timea Nagy, a human trafficking survivor, author, speaker and social advocate. At noon, Senators, Members of Parliament and staff heard from Ms. Nagy. In the evening, over 100 community members and organizations attended a panel discussion with Ms. Nagy, Simone Bell from Ottawa Police Victim Support, Wendy Gee from A New Day Youth & Adult Services, and Jennisha Wilson from Tungasuvvingat Inuit.
After the public panel discussion, Timea Nagy held a brief book signing for her newly released memoir, Out of the Shadows.
APPG Visit to Edmonton
August 1, 2019
APPG Co-chair MPs Christine Moore and Arnold Viersen spent the day meeting with a variety of anti-trafficking organizations based in Alberta. Through these meetings, we gained valuable insights into the human trafficking situation in Edmonton and throughout Alberta.
The Mekong Club Briefing with Matt Friedman on Parliament Hill
September 19, 2019
The APPG Co-Chair Senator Christmas hosted a presentation on modern day slavery and supply chains led by Matt Friedman for Senators, Members of Parliament, and staff.
Matt Friedman is an international human trafficking expert with more than 30 years’ experience. He is CEO of The Mekong Club, an organization of Hong Kong’s leading businesses which have joined forces to help end all forms of modern slavery. Mr. Friedman offers technical advice to numerous governments and corporations working to eliminate all forms of modern slavery.
IJM Trip to Bolivia
October 2019
The International Justice Mission (IJM) Canada invited APPG members to join a delegation of Canadian judges, lawyers, court administrator and law enforcement to Bolivia to share best practices in cases of child sexual abuse and violence against women. Four members of the APPG joined the delegation. Unfortunately, political unrest due to the presidential elections disrupted much of the itinerary of the trip.
All Party parliamentary group to end modern slavery 