Sushko Speaks to Commons Committee on Trafficking

OTTAWA–Ukrainian Canadian Congress President Irene (Orysia) Sushko spoke to a House of Commons Committee on the issue of human trafficking.  According to a front-page report in the Toronto Star on November 22, Sushko was part of a delegation that was in Ottawa to call on the government “to take a more active stand to stem the cross-border trade of humans.”

“Trafficking of humans constitutes horrific acts of slavery, the shameful assault on the dignity of children, the exploitation of the vulnerable for profit,” Sushko told the committee. “We cannot allow these atrocities against humankind to continue,” she said. 

Sushko also pointed out that the crime was growing and that girls from developing countries are lured to Canada and “are promised honest jobs but on arrival are forced to work as prostitutes to pay the cost of their trip. So, in pursuing their dreams, they find themselves living in a nightmare.” 

The delegation, which also included Benjamin Perrin of The Future Group, a non-profit organization created to combat trafficking, and Barbara Kryszko, of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women-International, also warned the government that Canada faces an “explosion” in human trafficking in the run-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics. clients. “But, even now,” said Perrin, “women from Eastern Europe are being exploited in Toronto-area massage parlous, nightclubs and sex trade.”