Against trafficking, for dignity: what justice looks like on July 30 and every day
July 30 is the International Day Against Trafficking in Persons. We are called to remember the millions of people exploited through forced labour, sexual violence and coercion and to take bold and urgent action to address human trafficking, which is more than a crime committed in the shadows. It is upheld by policies, economic systems and governments that exploit vulnerability for profit.
According to the International Labour Organization, human trafficking generates over $236 billion USD annually, yet its victims often remain invisible, especially those who fall through the cracks of broken immigration systems. As IMA Canada powerfully reminds us, the very structure of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) traps thousands in exploitative conditions. With closed permits that bind workers to one employer, Canada is not just complicit it is an active participant in legal trafficking. In 2025 alone, 82,000 permits are set to be issued. While it’s true that many migrant workers come to Canada in hopes of earning income to support their families, this choice is often made under duress where poverty, limited options, and urgent need leave workers vulnerable to exploitation. That vulnerability is often deepened by predatory recruitment agents, who charge exorbitant fees, provide false promises or coerce workers into conditions far different from what was advertised. The result is a system where workers must weigh survival against abuse, and where the illusion of choice exists.
But human trafficking doesn’t only happen overseas, it happens in our cities, our farms, our factories and our homes. We only wrap it in the language of “labour market needs” and “border control.”
And today, it also looks like Rev. Rosalind Wanyeki, a woman of faith and a community leader who faces deportation on August 7.
Rev. Wanyeki fled Kenya after facing persecution from a powerful religious figure. Since her arrival in Canada in 2020, she has supported over 500 families, connected more than 1,000 newcomers to critical resources and built Prayer Reign International Church into a refuge of healing, prayer and justice. Her daily ministry reaches people across Canada and internationally. Yet, despite all she has given to this country, she and her two children are being threatened with removal.
Her story reflects a greater truth: Canada’s immigration system continues to criminalize and discard those it deems disposable, even when they are pillars of their communities.
This contradiction is part of a larger pattern. As the IMA statement notes in a recent post of Facebook, Canadian trade, foreign and labour policies contribute to the very displacement that fuels trafficking through resource extraction, environmental destruction and military intervention. Then, when people migrate for safety or opportunity, they are met with surveillance, detention and the threat of deportation.
This year’s theme is a challenge to all of us: “Leave No One Behind.” That includes Rev. Wanyeki. That includes the farm worker whose passport is locked away by an employer. That includes the migrant youth in detention. That includes the mother working three jobs to survive. That includes those who Canada would rather forget.
We are calling on community members, clergy, unions and all people of conscience to:
- Demand open work permits for migrant workers.
- Oppose Bill C-2 and repressive immigration laws.
- Sign the petition to stop the deportation of Reverend Rosalind Wanyeki and her children and share it widely with your networks, churches and communities. Every signature sends a clear message that Reverend Wanyeki belongs here.
- Write to your MP’s to stop Rev. Wanyeki’s deportation. Use the text in the petition.
- Stand in solidarity with migrant and Indigenous communities who continue to be most impacted by trafficking, displacement and systemic violence.
Ending human trafficking means more than arresting traffickers, it means tearing down the systems that allow trafficking to thrive, and building new ones rooted in justice, care and collective liberation.
By Leah Shifferaw, Migrant Justice Team Lead
