US embassy cable - 04OTTAWA3101

UNCLAS OTTAWA 003101 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/PPC AND G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, KWMN, PHUM, CA, Trafficking 
SUBJECT: CANADA: INTERIM TIP ASSESSMENT INPUT 
 
REF: STATE 228298 
 
1.  Poloff met with Alain Tellier, Deputy Director of the 
International Crime and Terrorism Division at Foreign Affairs 
Canada, on November 1, to discuss the requirement for an 
interim Trafficking in Person (TIP) assessment, based on 
Canada being elevated from a Tier 2 to a Tier 1 country in 
this year's TIP report.  Tellier is the co-chair of the 
Government of Canada Interdepartmental Working Group on TIP 
issues (GOC IWG-TIP), comprised of 17 GOC departments and 
agencies. 
 
2.  The following inputs are keyed to the questions on Canada 
contained in reftel: 
 
Q1.  What general anti-trafficking progress has the 
Government of Canada made since May 2004?  Provide details of 
salient achievements or setbacks. 
 
A1.  The GOC IWG-TIP notes the following achievements: 
 
a) TIP was identified as a government priority in the Speech 
from the Throne that opened the new session of the Canadian 
Parliament in October. 
 
b) Prime Minister Martin specifically raised the matter of 
TIP in his speech to the UN General Assembly in September. 
 
c) A roundtable discussion, with participants from the 
federal government, provincial government of British 
Columbia, the Vancouver Police, the RCMP, academics and a 
cross section of local NGO's, was held in Vancouver in 
November, to discuss issues related to TIP, including 
prevention and awareness and local issues. 
 
d) At the Cross Border Crime Forum, held in October, a 
proposal was approved to conduct a joint U.S.-Canada threat 
assessment on TIP. 
 
Q2.  Have Canadian law enforcement personnel started using 
the 2003 TIP law? 
 
A2.  According to the GOC IWG-TIP, there are at least five 
ongoing TIP investigations. 
 
Q3.  Have steps been taken to close down the large flow of 
Korean trafficking victims transiting British Columbia en 
route to the U.S.? 
 
A3.  According to the GOC IWG-TIP, "Information currently 
held by Canadian authorities does not lead to the conclusion 
that such a situation exists and we would welcome any 
additional information available in this respect.  Canada 
remains committed to maintaining its close cooperation with 
U.S. authorities in securing the safe and efficient 
management of our common border.  The Canada/U.S. Integrated 
Border Enforcement Teams (IBETs) remain an important tool in 
this respect, as was recently reiterated by the Deputy Prime 
Minister to the Secretary of Homeland Security, when they met 
in October.  IBETs are multi-agency law enforcement teams 
that emphasize a harmonized approach to Canadian and U.S. 
efforts to target cross-border criminal and terrorist 
activity.  Regarding the fact that nationals from the 
Republic of Korea can travel visa free to Canada, it should 
be noted that Canadian visa policy is based on the premise 
that all persons require a visa to enter Canada unless 
specifically exempted.  Decisions to amend visa policy are 
based on a thorough analysis of a number of risk and benefit 
factors associated with the movement of foreign nationals. 
Canada reviews visa requirements on an ongoing basis.  As 
this is a secret process, it is not possible to disclose 
which countries have or may be under review." 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
CELLUCCI