Sex tourism and Canada's weak response

Bloc Quebecois balks on support for child trafficking bill
There can't possibly be any political upside to not supporting legislation that would increase penalties for criminals involved in trafficking children. But that's what the BQ has chosen to do.

Alone among the parties in Parliament, Bloc MPs (all save one) voted against the private members bill put forward by Manitoba Conservative MP Joy Smith. The bill would amend the Criminal Code, providing for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison for anyone convicted of trafficking children under the age of 18.

So far, there has only been one conviction in Canada for child trafficking and the offender received a three year sentence for trafficking a 15-year-old into prostitution. He earned more than $350,000 by selling her for sex over a two-year period. Because the offender received a credit for time served while awaiting trial, he spent less time in jail than he did exploiting and enslaving the teenager.

Thirty-three groups including the Canadian Police Association, the Manitoba Assembly of Chiefs, the Salvation Army, the Canadian Religious Conference and the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime support the bill.

The bill will soon be debated by the parliamentary standing committee on justice and human rights. But Smith is concerned that the bill will be passed before Parliament recesses for the summer.

"With the upcoming 2010 Vancouver Olympics, there is an urgent need to pass this legislation quickly," Smith said in a news release. "That is why the Bloc must stop opposing this bill and encourage its speedy passage."

Australia is perhaps the best example of a country proactively pursuing offenders. Southeast Asia is the number one vacation destination for Aussies...