End Slavery Day 2008 Event
Invitation letter
Persons Against the Crime of Trafficking in Humans
Personnes en action contre la traite des personnes
19 November 2008
Dear Friend,
Re: Invitation to PACT-Ottawa’s End Slavery 2008 Event on 2nd December
The Board and Members of Persons Against the Crime of Trafficking in Humans (PACT-Ottawa) are pleased to invite you to an event marking the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery on 2nd December 2008. We are delighted that Kathleen Petty, Host of CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning, will be our Master of Ceremonies for an evening that will shine light on the issue of human trafficking around the world and in our own country. The event will take place from 7 to 9 pm in Mac Hall at the Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Avenue. Kindly RSVP to: events@pact-ottawa.org.
End Slavery 2008 will feature a brief dramatization entitled “Personhood in Canadian History,” written and performed by the PACT Players. The play juxtaposes the stories of five women, including a trafficked person. Each has experienced discrimination and significant challenges to realizing her human rights. Audience members will be encouraged to make linkages between the women’s apparently disparate stories, and to consider how they might help the trafficked person to fully assert her personhood in Canada.
Praise for the PACT Players …
“… fabulous. Well written, well performed and a great way to convey information.”
Our guest speakers are two dynamic women who will share their expertise on the subject of human trafficking as a form of “modern day slavery”. Eileen Kerwin Jones, PhD, will speak on the global dynamics of the issue in “Human Trafficking: A Global Issue”. Erin Wolski will bring the matter home to Canada with a critical look at human trafficking in the domestic sphere in “Aboriginal Women: Root Causes of their Vulnerability.” Following the presentations, there will be a question and answer session with each expert.
Trafficking in humans occurs right here in Canada, just as it does in many other countries around the world. Trafficking occurs when a person is kept under the control of traffickers and exploited, for example through forced labour, including sex work, or the removal of an organ. Trafficking sometimes – but not always – involves transportation across a border. Notably, traffickers prey upon the vulnerable, which is why women and children are the principal victims. Since trafficking is the epitome of exploitation, it violates the fundamental human dignity of the trafficked person.
PACT-Ottawa is not-for-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) registered in the Province of Ontario. Our vision is to recognize the human dignity and promote the well-being of all trafficked persons. This includes persons who have been trafficked from other countries, as well as Canadian residents who may have been trafficked within Canada’s borders. PACT-Ottawa is committed to entrenching the protection of trafficked persons in Canadian law, and to securing the essential services that trafficked persons require to take back control of their bodies and their lives. Our organization’s mission is to network with other groups to prevent the trafficking of persons and to increase the protection of those who have been trafficked. For further information, you may refer to our website at http://www.pact-ottawa.org/.
Please do join us for an evening that promises to be both entertaining and informative. PACT-Ottawa pledges that by 9 pm on 2nd December, you will have learned at least one action that you personally can take to End Slavery.
Yours sincerely,
Christina Harrison Baird, Chair
PACT – Ottawa