Ben Perrin researched human trafficking in Canada and has just published a book: “Invisible Chains”. A few sisters and associates attended his book launching. Just when you think you are well informed about this topic, you learn there is more to the horror story.
Neither Quebec nor Canada has an action plan to combat human trafficking. Traffickers have a plan, Canada doesn’t. Ben Perrin illustrated what this means concretely:
Last January the guards with the Canada Border Services Agency met Natalie and believed her to be a victim of human trafficking because of the mysterious circumstances of her arrival. “Authorities placed Natalie in the immigration detention centre just outside Montreal, a prison-like complex surrounded by barbed wire.” The Montreal Refugee Centre called this: “a breakdown of the child protection system…” This 11-year-old spent her first month in Quebec alone because there is no system in place to co-ordinate services required for trafficking victims.