As Crime Stoppers is the only completely anonymous tip line at the provincial level, our statistics are very representative of the crime scene in Quebec.
Reports related to drug trafficking come first. Close behind, human trafficking related to sexual exploitation emerges strongly in terms of annual percentage.
Years pass and human trafficking becomes more sophisticated
The crimes are as sneaky as a family van that passes our border territories looking like the perfect little suburban family: parents, teenagers and children with fake passports. But the mechanism camouflaged under the rug is unspeakable. The victims are directed to the metropolis to submit to multiple sexual services, or are brought to the regions in isolated places, where they are sequestered and suffer long-term abuse. Of course, there are clandestine massages, escorts and strip clubs, but there is also what is called personal sexual servitude inside residences. This is part of what our police officers face when they dismantle prostitution networks with pimping or in connection with organized crime.
The smuggler, the organizer and the fraudster
The reality is that the traffickers are generally 81% male, between the ages of 18 and 34. Those we call “passers” are men or women who act spontaneously and their services are short-lived. This type of trafficker takes victims from place to place. When they get their money back, they detach themselves from the process. Well-organized organizations will pay several smugglers and use several means of transport to keep their victims in constant anonymity.
In the mind of the “organizing” trafficker, the ultimate goal is to constantly find innovations to vary his services by generating an impressive amount of money, as quickly as possible.
Moreover, several survivors of sexual exploitation trafficking bear witness to this. Yes, they are drugged and closely monitored. Despite this truth, it’s never the same decor, the same room, the same city… It’s done quickly: half an hour, an hour, rarely three hours in the same place. A perpetual tornado without landmarks that reinforces the vulnerability of prey to predators. It’s a tightly-knit system where the leading heads pull the strings and generate huge profits.
The “fraudster” trafficker turns out to be the essential link in the necklace. Without this key player, it would be much less fluid to make the victims travel so easily. Let’s face it, fraudsters are extremely proactive: fake passport, fake diploma, fake birth certificate, anything is possible.
This nest of vipers pushes the government to bet on the expansion of the biometric passport. The latter includes an electronic chip and a digital photo of the holder’s face. Despite this, there are already a lot of fake biometric passports in circulation. Where there are innovations, there are ambitious fraudsters. If it is inoperative, the other two categories of traffickers are stopped in their tracks and lose money.
Interprovincial Sexual Exploitation Corridors: A Concrete Strategy
The paved trails of human traffic that criss-cross the lands of Canadian provinces have been known and active for several years.
Since young Quebec girls are a coveted “commodity” in the various sexual markets, Quebec is one of the eternal focal points that feeds the nerve centers of the sex industry.
Highway 401, which connects Montreal to Windsor, is a glaring example. The traffickers drive along Kingston and then take advantage of the density of the Greater Toronto Area. The victims are engulfed in an unlivable whirlwind and are easily drowned in a sea of potential customers.
In Alberta, routes from the major commercial sex markets of Calgary and Edmonton provide access to other upstream markets involving forced labor with the mining camps of Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie. The geographical facility is targeted by the “organizer” trafficker. He strategically places his smugglers to optimize his profits and propels various criminal acts according to the category in which the victims he controls are found.
As a result, it is difficult to be silent on the circuit of the west coast of Canada, which is identified by the famous Quebec-Alberta corridor. As there is a recurring trend in the trafficking of young women from Quebec, there are many victims who travel with their traffickers from Montreal to Calgary by plane. This situation is no longer theoretical, it’s an established fact… so let’s talk about it!
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