Terence Young, M.P.
Oakville

“I met a brave woman,” says Terence – “my colleague from Manitoba Joy Smith (MP Kildonan-St. Paul). Joy has a family member who worked against human trafficking for years and made her keenly aware of the horrible circumstances the trafficking victims face.”

In 2005, Section 279.01 of the criminal code came into force with a 14 year maximum sentence if a victim is kidnapped, subject to aggravated sexual assault or killed during a trafficking offence. However there is a serious gap in the sentencing when the the most vulnerable victim is a child.

Joy’s private Member’s Bill – Bill C-268 – would provide a minimum sentence of five years for those crimes. There is a protocol in Parliament that says justice bills should not be the subject of private member’s bills. Joy broke that protocol last year when she introduced her bill to help combat human trafficking.

You can read more about this in the Spring 2009 issue of Inside Ottawa. If you agree, as Terence does, that this initiative is worth pursuing, please sign Joy’s petition and pop it in the mail! No stamp is required.