Section 279.011(1) of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to recruit, transport, transfer, receive, hold, conceal, or harbour a person under the age of eighteen, or to exercise control, direction, or influence over their movements, for the purpose of exploiting them or facilitating their exploitation.
This offence is punishable, on indictment:
The offence of trafficking a minor captures a broad range of conduct. Prohibited acts include, among others:
Recruiting a person;
Transporting, transferring, or receiving a person
Holding, concealing, or harbouring a person;
Exercising control, direction, or influence over a person’s movements.
To obtain a conviction for trafficking in persons under 18, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following elements.
The accused must have committed at least one of the acts listed in section 279.011, such as recruiting, harbouring, or exercising control or influence over a minor.
Control does not need to be physical or absolute. It may include psychological pressure, manipulation, dependency, or moral coercion.
Courts have repeatedly emphasised that trafficking offences are not limited to situations of total physical domination.
The person targeted by the conduct must be under the age of eighteen at the time of the events.
This element is satisfied as long as the victim was a minor when the offence occurred. No additional proof regarding vulnerability or maturity is required.
The accused must have acted with the intention of exploiting the minor or facilitating their exploitation.
This element focuses on the purpose behind the conduct, not just the conduct itself. The prosecution must show:
The exploitation does not need to have actually taken place. The intent may be inferred from the nature of the acts, the relationship between the parties, and the surrounding circumstances.
Different degrees of coercion may satisfy this element, including physical force, psychological pressure, manipulation, or abuse of authority.
Under section 279.011(2) of the Criminal Code, a minor cannot legally consent to acts that constitute human trafficking or exploitation.
Even if the minor appears to cooperate or agree, the law recognizes that a young person cannot give meaningful consent in this context.
Any apparent consent has no legal effect.
An individual recruits a 14-year-old girl by promising her a job and a place to live. He provides housing, controls where she goes, monitors her contacts, and applies constant psychological pressure to force her to provide services.
Although she is not physically locked in and can sometimes move freely, she believes that refusing would lead to serious consequences.
Even without total physical restraint, this type of conduct may constitute trafficking of a person under eighteen, as it demonstrates real control and influence exercised for the purpose of exploitation.
Trafficking in persons under the age of eighteen is a serious indictable offence punishable by:
With a mandatory minimum sentence of six (6) years, where the offence involves kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, or results in death;
With a mandatory minimum sentence of five (5) years, in all other cases.
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