The Government of Saskatchewan introduced legislation Thursday to protect victims of human trafficking.
“This is about reducing dependency between victims and their traffickers, who often force victims to take out loans on their behalf and then prevent them from repaying them,” said Justice Minister and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre. “These new protections will help vulnerable victims rebuild their lives without coerced debts hanging over their heads.”
According to Hope Restored Canada, Saskatchewan has the highest rates of human trafficking in the country.
In 2021, the province’s overall rates of human trafficking were 1.8 times higher than the national average. Hope Restored Canada said in a news release that Saskatoon specifically reported 336 per cent more incidences to the police in 2021 than the national average.
“Ninety-three per cent of people who are coming forward with these incidences are Canadian citizens, so this is a Canadian issue, it’s something when people are immigrating and coming into Canada,” said Hope Restored Canada executive director Joeline Magill.
The organization provides support to people who have been sexually exploited and trafficked.
“The debts coerced upon human trafficking victims and survivors while they are being exploited often create significant barriers as they rebuild their lives,” said Julia Drydyk from the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking. “Saskatchewan is one of the first provinces that is taking steps to address the financial abuse elements of human trafficking.”
The Protection from Human Trafficking (Coerced Debts) Amendment Act 2023 will assist trafficking victims in acquiring loans. The act will prohibit lenders from including coerced debts in credit reports or taking the debts into account when considering loans.
The legislation will offer a certificate process to victims that will confirm their history and debts incurred. Victims can provide their certificates to their credit reporting agency.
According to a government release, “while credit reporting agencies may choose to remove information about coerced debts without certification, this process will allow victims to confirm the information, if necessary, without the need to reveal private and potentially traumatizing information to a credit reporting agency.”
Magill said that the process might create hesitancy amongst victims if not implemented correctly.
“It would be awesome if those debts could be taken care of and those debts weren’t hanging over their heads, but in reality, there is far more that we don’t see around fear, threats on people they love, so many other things that are existing in the situation that even though those things are in place for them, people may be unsure if they want to come forward and use them.”
The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking and Hope Restored Canada encouraged the province to work closely with survivor experts and front-line agencies to implement the legislation.