The City of Brampton is asking the provincial and federal government to support the city’s efforts to tackle human trafficking involving international students.
Brampton City Council approved a motion from the city’s Community Services Chair Rowena Santos, which advocated for “systemic change” at the provincial and federal levels to protect Brampton’s international student population from the threat of being exploited or human trafficked.
“Many (international students) face financial challenges, housing insecurity and a lack of adequate institutional support, making them prime targets for exploitation and trafficking,” a city news release said. “In particular, female students have been exploited by predatory landlords and traffickers, leading to cases of unwanted pregnancies, mental health crises and even suicide.”
In order to tackle the human trafficking problem, the motion recommends that the government raise the amount of hours international students are allowed to work in a week, remove deportation conditions for anyone connected to prostitution, and expand access to social services for international students.
Santos said that due to international students only being able to work 24 hours a week while studying here, many of them face financial difficulties which pushes them towards sex work.
Individual international students are required to prove that in addition to their tuition, they have access to at least $10,000 per year of their study and $833 per month to support themselves before being approved to study in Canada.
Due to immigration rules, any international student found to be involved in sex trafficking, even if forced, can be deported. Santos claimed that many instances of human trafficking go unreported by international students as there are no protections guaranteed for victims of the crime who want to report it.
“Many young women are coerced into dangerous situations, threatened with deportation and forced into prostitution, silently, fending for themselves and leaving them in very precarious and harmful circumstances,” she said. “This is not the Canada we know, and we are seeing too many examples of it.”
Mayor Patrick Brown said Brampton is home to Canada’s largest population of international students and as such Canada needs to step up to ensure they are not being exploited while they are here.
Since 2020 Peel Regional Police have charged 160 people with more than 650 human trafficking offences, Mayor Patrick Brown noted at a news conference about the issue on Wednesday. He said the human trafficking unit has conducted 110 investigations into exploitation and trafficking so far this year, while in all of 2023, they investigated a total of 127 incidents.
“It happens in plain sight, and obviously here in Peel Region we are more vulnerable. You know, with the international airport, with major highways, the intermodal hub, you know, we are at a nexus point for this cancer within our society,” Brown said.
A representative of PRP told True North that there have only been two cases of human trafficking involving an international student since 2022.
“Generally speaking, South Asian women are not over-represented in human trafficking or sex trade workers in Peel Regional Police occurrences,” the spokesperson said. “It’s important to highlight that we’re not saying that this isn’t the case. What this suggests to us is that they’re very vastly unreported.”
The city will also look to expand its powers granted to them in the Residential Rental Licensing program which allows them to inspect and investigate living conditions in rental properties.
Brown said that through the RRL program, inspectors located 18 female tenants living in “precarious conditions” in a single housing unit. He said the investigation was now in the hands of the PRP.
“This motion is a vital step toward providing (international students) with the protections they deserve,” Brown said. “By strengthening our local programs and calling for legislative change, we are sending a clear message: Brampton will not tolerate the exploitation of its students.”
The city is also advocating for the federal and provincial governments as well as post-secondary institutions to adopt an international student charter.
“This charter sets out clear responsibilities for institutions to offer comprehensive orientation and support services, helping students navigate legal rights, housing and employment while preventing exploitation,” the city news release said.
The Ontario Minister for Colleges and Universities did not respond to True North’s requests for comment.