Item - 2013.ex36.13

City Council on December 16, 17 and 18, 2013, adopted the following:

1.         City Council direct the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to continue to oversee the City's Human Trafficking Working Group and report on the status of the City of Toronto's initiatives to address human trafficking by February 2015.

2.         City Council direct the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, in consultation with the Toronto Police Service and other stakeholders, including but not limited to organizations that serve trafficked persons, and other City divisions, as appropriate, to undertake a review of licensing by-laws concerning trades and businesses that are known to be destinations for human trafficking with the objective of establishing measures and policies aimed at addressing the consequences of human trafficking from the perspectives of health and safety, and crime prevention.

3.         City Council direct the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, in collaboration with the Toronto Police Service, other orders of government and agencies, as well as other City divisions, as appropriate, to develop and deliver training specific to the needs of Municipal Licensing and Standards front-line and management staff, with the focus on the recognition of indicators of human trafficking; and to establish a protocol concerning a referral of suspected cases of human trafficking to appropriate agencies.

4.         City Council request the Toronto Police Services Board / Chief of Toronto Police Service to consider the following:

a.         to deliver training to an appropriate number of community response officers across all police divisions to recognize the indicators of human trafficking based on the definition under the Canada’s Criminal Code and the City’s definition outlined in the report (November 21, 2013) from the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration and the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards;

b.         to undertake a policy and procedure review concerning human trafficking investigations to include, all forms of human trafficking crimes; and

c.         to determine the most appropriate tools to develop benchmarks to monitor all forms of human trafficking in Toronto.

5.         City Council direct the Human Trafficking Working Group to work with Human Resources to develop appropriate awareness training for key front-line staff on how to recognize indicators of human trafficking.

6.         City Council request the Ontario Press Council and the Newspapers Canada to develop anti-human trafficking guidelines/practices related to advertising, particularly in cases where there is a suspicion that the ad may involve exploitation of a minor, and that the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, in consultation with Strategic Communications, report back on the progress and response received to this request.

7.         City Council request the Ontario Press Council and Newspapers Canada to advise City Council on the development of anti-human trafficking guidelines/practices related to advertising by June 2014.

8.         City Council request the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, to work with the City's Human Trafficking Working Group and external stakeholders and report back to the Executive Committee regarding the establishment of a hotline and support services for trafficked persons, including the resources required.

9.         City Council direct the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to report to Executive Committee in June 2014 on the Canadian Women's Foundation report "Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada" (to be released in summer 2014), on any other services that are not currently provided by the City but are essential in assisting trafficked persons and the support systems that the Provincial and Federal Governments need to develop in order to effectively assist trafficked persons.

10.     City Council request the City Manager, the City Solicitor, and the Deputy City Managers, Clusters A and B, to report back to the Executive Committee on a strategy to more vigorously prosecute charges related to municipal by-law infractions by the adult entertainment, body rub, and holistic license classes.

11.       Toronto City Council, condemning the horrific crime of human trafficking, commit to working with all stakeholders, including other orders of government, to eradicate human trafficking in the City of Toronto. Further, City Council, understanding the complexity of this crime and the need to proceed with great sensitivity, regardless of the nature of the exploitation (sexual exploitation, forced labour, and/or forced marriage), direct the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration and Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards to continue to work with all stakeholders to raise public awareness of this crime, increase services and supports for trafficked persons, and increase efforts to prevent human trafficking.

12.       City Council direct that a copy of this Item be forwarded to the School Boards that serve the city of Toronto, the Toronto Public Library Board, Board of Health, Toronto Transit Commission, and Toronto Community Housing Corporation Board with a request that they develop and deliver appropriate training to their front-line staff with the focus on the recognition of indicators of human trafficking, establish a human trafficking protocol when staff is aware of signs of trafficking and the process to refer services to appropriate service providers.