Brampton officials are calling on their federal and provincial counterparts to change student visa requirements and provide more support for international students, who they say are more vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, along with city councillors, Peel Regional Police representatives and community advocates said the city doesn’t have the resources to tackle the rising issue on its own.
“We want to zone in on this cancer within our society and our country to combat human trafficking. It happens in plain sight,” Brown said at a news conference.
Brown said Brampton has the largest share of international students in the country, with many of them going to schools outside the city.
In a motion proposed by Brampton Coun. Rowena Santos that passed Wednesday, city council agreed to ask the province and federal government to help fund a three-year pilot to build a wrap-around hub for students, where they can get culturally sensitive support with things like housing, employment and mental health. Per the motion, the hub would also help identify students who are being trafficked and refer them to assistance.
“Brampton cannot do this alone. We are only reacting to this inherited problem and it’s time for those with the jurisdiction to do something meaningful,” Santos said.
‘A choice between living in a tent or being coerced’
Santos said students who come to Canada with big dreams end up facing unimaginable hardships, as housing and financial strain make them more vulnerable to exploitation.
A Statistics Canada report from earlier this year found that international students living in Brampton were more likely to live in unsuitable housing in 2021 than in any other city across the country. One of the report’s requirements for suitable housing is that adults should have their own bedroom, unless they are a part of a couple.
It found that 63.3 per cent of international students in Brampton lived in unsuitable housing, compared to 37.2 per cent in Toronto and 29.2 in Vancouver.
Brown said that just a few weeks ago he was briefed about a home that was subject to calls about potential human trafficking. He said when city officials went in, they found 18 women living inside.
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Brown, Santos and other officials also highlighted a concerning trend of rental advertisements that offer “friends with benefits” agreements and rent discounts in exchange for sexual favours.
“It’s a choice between living in a tent or being coerced into a situation where they are being sexually exploited,” said Santos, who also said that federal restrictions on work hours push students to make money in unsafe ways.
She said that federal guidelines also play a role in victims not speaking up, as they can be deported if they are perceived as being engaged in sex work.
“If you have the courage to come forward, we’re going to do everything we can possibly do to make sure you’re you’re safe,” Brown said.
Brown says the city’s hope is for the federal government to change their visa requirements so they’re not used as a tool to entrap students.
Numbers are tip of the iceberg, officials say
Brown said that since 2020, 168 people have been charged with human trafficking in Peel Region, with 666 charges being laid. Between January and October, the police ran 110 investigations into human trafficking, he said, compared to 127 investigations that were conducted throughout all of last year.
Although it’s unclear how many of these cases involve international students, Brown said the city knows international students are particularly vulnerable.
“Those numbers are staggering, especially knowing they are only the tip of the iceberg of what is reported,” he said.
Some victims are coerced into sex work because of landlords withholding their passport, said Gurpreet Malhotra, CEO of Indus Community Services, which provides social services in Peel, while others fall victim to sextortion or grooming from what first seems like a normal relationship.
“The people who have profited from inviting internationals students to Canada, and Brampton in particular, have the responsibility to educate, house and protect these young people and keep them safe,” Malhotra said.
This isn’t the first time the municipality has asked other levels of government for help.
In late 2023, the city moved a motion asking the federal government for support with housing for international students. Another motion asked the Ontario government to double its “Heads and Beds Levy,” where municipalities receive $75 as a payment in lieu of property taxes for each full-time student, a rate that hasn’t changed in over 30 years.
In an emailed statement, Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities said the province invested $307 million over five years and enacted legislation as part of its anti-human trafficking strategy.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a statement that officials increased the financial threshold for those applying to get a study permit. That means prospective students will need to show they have access to $20,635, up from the previous $10,000, to demonstrate they can handle the cost of living in Canada. It added that it is proposing to increase the amount of hours students can work off-campus, from 20 to 24 hours a week, as part of reforms to the International Student Program.