Item - 2013.EX28.2

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council direct the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to pursue opportunities to reduce the impact of human trafficking in Toronto by doing the following:

a.         Collaborate with existing human trafficking committees coordinated by different organizations: Public Safety Canada's National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, the Ontario government's Human Trafficking Advisory Committee supported by the Ministry of the Attorney General, and four working groups comprised of organizations that serve trafficked persons: the Toronto Counter Human Trafficking Network coordinated by FCJ Refugee Centre, the Ontario Coalition Against Human Trafficking coordinated by the Alliance Against Modern Slavery, the Rotary Club of Toronto Women’s Initiative Domestic Human Trafficking Project, Streetlight Support Services, Free-Them and the National Task Force of Human Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada led by Canadian Women's Foundation.

b.         Work with other orders of government, community-based organizations, Toronto Police Service, and City divisions to design a training program to inform, educate and train City staff regarding human trafficking.

c.         Collect data about trafficked persons, success stories, and charged and convicted traffickers to benchmark and monitor the trends in Toronto.

2.         City Council direct the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, in consultation with the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, Legal Services, the Toronto Police Service and other City divisions as needed, to undertake a review and report back to the Executive Committee with recommendations outlining required enactment and/or amendment to City by-laws, including zoning provisions, and further detailing the resources and tools needed to aid in the combatting of human trafficking, and strengthening the protection of vulnerable women, children and all persons from human traffickers in the City of Toronto; this review to include, but not be limited to:

a.         Investigative and Enforcement resources and tools
b.         Financial and Punitive resources and tools

3.         City Council advise the Federal Government of Canada of its desire to see legislation put in place similar to the United States' "Victims of Trafficking & Violence Protection Act", as human trafficking has dire circumstances for the residents of our country no matter where they live.

4.         City Council advise the Federal Government of Canada of its desire to see the establishment of a central enforcement office under the jurisdiction of Public Safety Canada similar to the "Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons" created  by the United States Federal government

5.         City Council request the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to work in conjunction with the Fair Wage Office, the Director, Purchasing and Materials Management, and the City Solicitor, to review Human Trafficking laws in other jurisdictions, including the United States, to see how they deal with anti-trafficking provisions, in particular, for contractors and sub-contractors for supplies and services; this work should be done in parallel to the work already in progress on a report being prepared on a living wage, quality jobs, and contracting out, as previously requested by the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee requested the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, in consultation with the Director, Strategic Communications, to develop a policy prohibiting the City of Toronto from advertising in publications that could reasonably be seen, and are generally acknowledged, to be used to market trafficked persons, and report back to the Executive Committee at its July 3, 2013 meeting.

This report responds to the Executive Committee request for information pertaining to the problem of human trafficking in Toronto, including recommendations to strengthen protection of vulnerable women and children, improve services available to victims of human trafficking and to reduce human trafficking. It also responds to the request to report on the formulation of a policy that would prohibit City advertising in publications that allow advertising that could contribute to human trafficking.

Human trafficking is defined as recruiting vulnerable persons for the purpose of transporting, transfer, harbouring, and/or controlling them to be engaged in forced labour, especially sex work, organ removal, or other forms of coercion for the purpose of exploitation. Research demonstrates human trafficking is both a domestic issue, as well as an international problem, and it's a crime that occurs primarily in urban areas.

There is an opportunity for the City of Toronto to work with other orders of government, community-based organizations, Toronto Police Service and several City divisions to identify the impact of human trafficking in Toronto. Staff will determine possible solutions within the City's mandate to decrease the risk of trafficked persons in Toronto. City divisions will collaborate each other to bring public awareness to the issue, and develop indicators to better measure human trafficking in Toronto.