Senator Yonah Martin speaks on Human Trafficking in Canada

On October 22, the Hon.Sen. Yonah Martin, who is a staunch sponsor of Bill C268 gave a resounding speech.

Some highlights here:

...Imani Nakpangi, who is the first person in Canada convicted of human trafficking involving a minor, received a three-year sentence for the trafficking of a 15-year-old girl but was credited with 13 months for pre-trial custody. He made over $350,000 sexually exploiting her for over two years before she was able to escape. He brutally controlled "Eve" by assaulting her, threatening her, threatening to kidnap her brother and threatening to harm her parents. Without conscience, he used his illicit profits to purchase a BMW and a large home in Niagara Falls for himself. He will spend less time in jail for this conviction than he spent exploiting and brutalizing this vulnerable girl whose life he has completely destroyed. This sentence, and another recent case of Michael Lennox Mark, is even more appalling. Last year, Montreal resident Michael Lennox Mark received a two-year sentence, but with double credit for the year served before his trial, the man who horrifically victimized a 17-year-old girl over two years spent only a week in jail after his conviction.
The girls in both these cases lived in sheer horror during their victimization, and continue to live in fear of their perpetrators who are back on the streets far too soon. The sentences of Imani Nakpangi and Michael Lennox Mark represent a serious failure of our current criminal justice system to protect the young victims. We can correct this imbalance and fill the gap in the form of Bill C-268. We must ensure that those who engage in such heinous conduct are brought to justice, and that their punishment appropriately reflects the gravity of their crime.....

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