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| MP urges Canada get tough on child sex-trafficking |
| Sexuality |
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If Manitoba Conservative MP Joy Smith has her way, people who traffic in children for sex will get the punishment she believes they deserve.
Earlier this year, Smith introduced private member’s bill C-268 in the House of Commons. It seeks to impose a mandatory minimum prison term of five years on those found guilty of trafficking in persons under the age of 18. Such a penalty, she believes, “is the very least we can do.” “As a nation, we need to protect our most vulnerable citizens, and our children certainly are them,” Smith told Today’s Family News. “We ought not to be allowing sex slavery or any other kind of slavery in our country.” Judging by the list of endorsements for C-268 on Smith’s website, it would appear that many Canadians agree with her. Human trafficking is often assumed to be a problem confined to developing nations. But University of British Columbia law professor Benjamin Perrin, who helped Smith craft C-268, said it is a serious problem here in Canada – a problem that is growing. “Victims have been advertised online on craigslist, for example. Victims have been exploited in hotel chains that we all stay at. And we’ve confirmed both of those findings through our research,” he said. Perrin believes that passing C-268 would have a deterrent effect on would-be human traffickers – a deterrent that is currently lacking in the Criminal Code and in the courts. Last November, for example, a judge sentenced Montreal resident Michael Lennox Mark to only two years in jail after he pled guilty to trafficking a 17-year-old girl. “But because he’d served one year in pre-trial custody and was given a two-for-one credit,” said Perrin, “he only had to serve an extra one week in jail after being convicted.” On February 27, C-268 received its first hour of debate. It is scheduled to be debated again for a second and final hour on May 4. Then MPs will vote on whether to send it to the Commons Justice Committee for in-depth study. If MPs vote no, the bill will die. Smith admits she cannot imagine how any MP could oppose her bill, which she believes rises above partisan politics. “A lot of MPs from all parties have been very, very supportive,” she said. “But Parliament is a strange place, and I just take nothing for granted. So I’m just pushing and doing everything I can to make sure that this happens.” Smith said there are several ways that Canadians can show their support for her bill. One is to contact their local MP, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, and ask them to support C-268. (All mail to MPs is postage-free.) “The other thing they can do,” she said, “is go to my website, download the petitions, get them signed and send them to me, because I present them in Parliament all the time.” |
