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Results: 16 - 30 of 488
Bridget Perrier
View Bridget Perrier Profile
Bridget Perrier
2021-06-22 12:23
What we're seeing is the grooming process, and the grooming process would be done by the bottom bitch. I'm going to use the terminology that traffickers use.
The grooming process consists of either getting them in debt with drugs or giving them purses or whatever. I was groomed by my own sibling. It was really easy. I was amazed that there was someone who looked like me, who spoke like me, and she was fully involved in prostitution. She had already been introduced at the age of 11. She brought her younger sister in. It was very easy.
Traffickers don't take empowered young girls under their wing. I never met an empowered young girl who got pulled into prostitution. Usually the pimps know. They know the broken home, the sexually abused, the traumatic sexual event. Any young girl or young LGBTQ person who has had some sort of trauma is very vulnerable. We have to look at that vulnerability.
I know Detective Ryta really well. Back then he was in the morality unit. He used to try to do things to scare us out the game, and we'd just look at him. What happened to me was I was in jail. I got out of jail three days before my son died. I had to go through losing a child who.... My son had leukemia and he was very vulnerable. I could have brought him home any kind of illness. I had to pinky-promise him that I would never go back to work. I kept that pinky promise, but I had good parents. Still I remember not being able to breastfeed my first child because of the dissection that had happened to my body.
I'll pass it off to Trisha.
Trisha Baptie
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Trisha Baptie
2021-06-22 12:25
Sorry.
If you want to see grooming, it looks so different today from what it did 30 years ago. You need to go online. That's where it's happening. It's happening on Snapchat, on Twitter. It's happening online. The best resource to find out what grooming looks like right now is a website called.... It's by Gail Dines, and her website is.... I'll get it to you guys. I will. It's absolutely the best website for dealing with that.
As for how I got out, I don't think there's a story there. I met great people. They helped me. I got out.
What I want to talk about is my friends. They had to move mountains to get out, because they were indigenous. Here in Vancouver, aboriginal housing is right next to our Downtown Eastside, which is right next to our drug dealers, and then the services to help them get out are two blocks away from the stroll. Apparently this is so they feel safe in the neighbourhood and they can find resources in the neighbourhood.
I would argue that this keeps them in. My friends who lived in.... I was able to live with my kids in a neighbourhood outside of Vancouver. No one ever put me together with my kids. For women in aboriginal housing and use aboriginal services.... They are using services and they are trying to get out, but it's also a way to keep them under surveillance, and they're never given a chance to get out from under that thumb unless they have people who are really rallying and working with them.
I think that's very unfair. I think it's unfair that I get to leave the area of my exploitation and they have to live there. We need to be looking at things like that.
View Rachel Blaney Profile
NDP (BC)
Thank you, Chair, and I want to thank all of you for your testimony. I think the history of indigenous women being trafficked is Canadian history that goes so far back. I think of my granny, who was in residential school and at 16 got married off to a carpenter in the community who was significantly older than she was. I remember hearing that story and thinking, “That explains some things.”
I want to thank you all for telling that story, and for also understanding how systemic it is in our system.
My first question is going to come to you, Karen. You talked about the government cutting money while you're being asked to do even more. I heard testimony from everyone about the lack of resources and not knowing where to put people who are trying to escape trafficking.
I wonder if I could come to you first, Karen, and then I will come to you, Madame Gobert, because I haven't heard from you yet. I would love to have you answer that question, and then I'll continue on.
Karen Pictou
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Karen Pictou
2021-06-22 12:29
Certainly.
Shortly after I began this role just a little over three years ago, we received $100,000 per year for a three-year period through our national umbrella organization, NWAC, as federal core funding. However, leading up to the end of that agreement, there still is no decision being made, so now we are faced with the fact that if we do not get money into our bank account from federal core funding, we will lose a large portion of the capacity that we currently have at the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association.
We have secured long-term provincial core funding. However, that only pays for our rent and the salary of our core staff, which would be three individuals. It certainly is by no means enough [Technical difficulty—Editor] this work.
I might also mention that the only other thing that is keeping us afloat at the moment is the short-term funding that we've received from WAGE for a couple of different projects. Part of the problem here is that although the project proposal-based funding continues to keep us in a state of survival, when we're in a state of survival, we cannot look at those long-term goals. How do we plan five to 10 years out if we don't even know if we'll have funding to exist then or if we'll have the programs and services that we need to support? We need 100%.
For the Jane Paul centre, we have received five years of funding from the Department of Justice, so we have three years left. That is in the amount of $150,000, which does not even pay salaries. It literally pays the rent, utilities and insurance to keep the doors open.
We need a commitment from Canada that these programs and services and the organizations delivering them are important and deserve an investment of sustainability, because we know this issue is not going to go away overnight. Simply put....
I guess I'll just leave it there. Thanks.
Janet Gobert
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Janet Gobert
2021-06-22 12:31
I can't speak from personal experience, but as a community initiatives coordinator in dealing with this group of women, housing was definitely an issue.
Approximately a year ago at the friendship centre, we opened a men's shelter. However, we've seen a transition happen with the client base that was accessing it. Right now, we're in the beginning steps of transitioning it into a women's shelter for those who have been affected by human trafficking.
As Karen said, funding is definitely an issue right now. We are using funds that we have received from head office for the fourth round of COVID funding. Yes, we do have short-term funding from WAGE as well, but I guess our issue is that when we look at transitioning this to a women's shelter, we're looking at little blocks of funding, so right now we would only be looking at operating for a one-year period.
Is it absolutely necessary that we have long-term funding? Yes, it is. We cannot offer service without keeping these women safe, so without having that shelter for these women, our work is pointless.
View Rachel Blaney Profile
NDP (BC)
Thank you for that.
Ms. Perrier, you talked about people having to stay in your house because there's nowhere to send them. I'm curious as to whether you could talk about the concern you have around a limit of resources and not having a place to send folks so that they are safe.
Bridget Perrier
View Bridget Perrier Profile
Bridget Perrier
2021-06-22 12:33
There's a lot of money. I'm seeing millions of dollars for initiatives, but nobody has opened up an on-site, three-siloed safe space for women. I can't send these women to battered women's shelters, because first of all, they're putting the other women at risk. Cross-contamination happens, and I don't think that's where healing begins. We need to have our individualized area and treatment centres.
To be really truthful—and I'm here to speak the truth—it's a big cash cow. Human trafficking is the new thing, and people are eloquently writing proposals, getting millions of dollars and doing nothing. A prime picture is Thunder Bay, as well as Toronto. In Ontario, we have nowhere to send indigenous women who are exiting the sex trade unless I farm them out to Manitoba, but they're at capacity too. Therefore, we have nowhere for them.
View Gary Vidal Profile
CPC (SK)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I too want to thank our witnesses today. I'm not going to pretend to be able to even acknowledge the pain and the suffering that you've experienced in some of your journeys. I can't even imagine that. However, I want to thank you for coming and sharing your journeys with us to help us understand this as parliamentarians and try to move forward in a way that might offer some solutions for the future. I appreciate that.
Over 50% of the survivors of sex trafficking in Canada are indigenous women and girls, even though they make up 4% of the population. This is obviously a huge challenge.
You've referred to a number of things as you've each spoken. We've talked about the child welfare system. We've talked about public policy changes. We've talked about exit strategies. We've talked about a number of different things. What I'm looking for from each of you is just a recommendation that would be very significant from a prevention perspective. I get the challenges exit-wise, but how do we stop it in the first place? What are some really practical things that the Government of Canada could do that would help to prevent young women and ladies from even being put in this place?
I think I'll start with Ms. Gobert because she hasn't had an awful lot of opportunity today, and then each of the other witnesses could take a minute of my time and answer that question if they can.
Janet Gobert
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Janet Gobert
2021-06-22 12:36
Sure.
When we talk about empowerment.... I'm not sure which witness said that the empowerment of girls means they will not be able to be trafficked. That is something that has been discussed over and over again within our board. What we were looking at in that regard is going into the schools. I know it has been done over and over, but switching it to have a cultural aspect to it is what we're going to be attempting to do.
Karen Pictou
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Karen Pictou
2021-06-22 12:36
First off, in Nova Scotia one simple way to prevent future human trafficking is to stop the Goldboro LNG mining plant that is scheduled to happen. The Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia will own a work camp with 5,500 temporary workers that will be located just outside the borders of Paqtnkek First Nation. I guarantee you that there is no training we can do and that there are no policies that we can put in place to keep our women, girls and two-spirit people safe. If and when indigenous women, girls or two-spirit people are harmed from this project, it'll end up being the Mi'kmaq who are liable, because they own the work camp.
This needs to end. We do not need this. The Mi'kmaq will not benefit enough to risk our lives and to gamble the well-being of our communities in order to house this project. I guarantee you that stopping the Goldboro plant will prevent human trafficking in Nova Scotia.
Bridget Perrier
View Bridget Perrier Profile
Bridget Perrier
2021-06-22 12:38
We're going to go back to empowerment. I think we need to teach our boys not to rape. I think it just goes.... It's not about our little girls. Why is it always our females who have to bear the brunt of men's bad behaviours? I think we need to have “buyer bewares” throughout Canada to warn that if you're in this city, this territory, to buy sex, you're going to be publicly shamed.
If you put accountability on the men who are causing the problem, then it could mean putting a revenue-type thing on it, making more sex buyer busts, making them pay for us. I really think that when you tell them, “Hey, if you're caught buying sex in this neighbourhood, your car's going to be impounded, your vehicle's going to be tagged and your wife's going to get a letter”—or your spouse, your work or whatever....
I just think that we need to put the onus back on the buyers. That's my whole thing. It's the buyers. If we didn't have the demand, we wouldn't have this problem.
Trisha Baptie
View Trisha Baptie Profile
Trisha Baptie
2021-06-22 12:39
I went to Sweden for three days. I was invited by the government to study the prostitution law they had just passed. I think we need to do two things that they did.
One was public education. All across transit, in the airports and everywhere, you'd see welcome signs saying that buying sex is a crime. They believe that, and they ingrained it into the fibre of their society. I went to a high school there because I wanted to talk to kids who had grown up under the new prostitution laws. I had 17-year-old girls tell me that they would not date boys who had looked at porn because they knew how much they were worth. This law changed the way they saw each other and the way they interacted.
If we want to change a country, we change the laws. We want laws that say this is ridiculous and you can go to jail for treating our women this way.
View Jaime Battiste Profile
Lib. (NS)
Yes, thank you. My question is going to be for Karen Pictou.
Karen, I want you to talk a little bit about the Jane Paul centre and the resiliency centre that you have planned. How are these important examples of how we can use part of the money with the missing and murdered indigenous women's group to prevent violence against women, and racism as well?
Karen Pictou
View Karen Pictou Profile
Karen Pictou
2021-06-22 12:41
I did speak a little bit about the Jane Paul centre and the resiliency centre. Essentially, the prevention work would be in family healing and empowerment, as we talked about. It wouldn't just be open for victims or for survivors; it would be open to all of our community members to take part in healing activities. It's to do different things that are culturally based, to provide opportunity, provide training, provide support, provide community, and provide acceptance and eliminate stigma. It's all of those things. Every day, the Jane Paul centre works to prevent death and to prevent violence.
I believe the work we're doing.... We have about 10 volunteers—although not so many right now, because of COVID—who come and work out of the Jane Paul centre who are former clients. That shows that something we are doing is working, and it needs to be recognized.
I believe that future generation is one way we're going to prevent exploitation. As I said, we need to to build up our own identities as Mi'kmaq women and understand our key role within family, within community and within our society. That needs to get returned to us.
Another way will be around having space and place. In Nova Scotia, for example, Highway 102 is the human trafficking corridor to the rest of the country. The majority of women who are coming out of human trafficking across Canada started in Nova Scotia.
Believe you me, we may not talk about it a lot. As you know, Jaime, a lot of times our women are stigmatized when they come forward and talk about these types of things that have happened to them. A lot of times they're silent. However, this building—our resiliency centre—will be a beacon of hope. You will see our building from the 102. It will be a beacon of hope so that if a woman can just get to our door, they'll be okay. I guarantee that they will be okay.
Another thing that we're doing is working in partnership. We don't want to duplicate services from any other organization. We work very closely with the YWCA and the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre. One of the things I'm doing in Sydney today is going to view some real estate. The Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre and the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association are partnering to open a home for women exiting human trafficking, as well as for women who are in need of a safe space. It will be located in Sydney. It will be owned and operated by indigenous women. Although that is a response to human trafficking, I know that it will also work as prevention, because our communities will be aware. There will be education. These women will survive and they'll be able to grow healthy families.
I'm sorry for the long-winded response. I'm trying to get in a lot in a short period of time.
View Jaime Battiste Profile
Lib. (NS)
No, it was a good response.
Something I've always been curious about is this: If someone is seeking to leave trafficking and someone is in crisis or they feel they are vulnerable, what are the supports available for that person? Can they just call 911? Do they have culturally sensitive, relevant supports available so that they can just dial a number or send a text or log on to a website? Can you tell me what someone would be able to do and whether that is working?
Results: 16 - 30 of 488 | Page: 2 of 33

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