Canada warns Hongkongers about forcing maids to join them on holiday
Visitors from Hong Kong risk arrest if their domestic helper is forced to join them while they are on holiday, regardless of the length of stay
Hong Kong holidaymakers risk arrest for human trafficking, an offence with a potential life sentence, if they force maids to join them on Canadian vacations - regardless of whether the helper's visa has expired - Canada's federal police have warned.
The caution comes after Hong Kong emigrant Franco Orr Yiu-kwan was jailed last week for 18 months, convicted of human trafficking in a landmark case for bringing his maid with his family when they moved to Vancouver.
Corporal Jassy Bindra, human trafficking co-ordinator for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), said that the length of time that an employer and employee were in Canada was not relevant to whether trafficking charges were filed.
When presented with the scenario of a Hong Kong boss who forced a maid to join a vacation to Canada, under threat of dismissal, Bindra said that all scenarios of potential human trafficking would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
"If someone is forcing a person to travel internationally against their will and under threats of any kind, they will be investigated and potentially prosecuted as this would constitute an offence in Canada," she stressed.
Bindra's warning came after recruitment experts suggested last week that employers would only be at risk if a maid's Canadian visa expired. Bindra said this was not the case.
"Whether an individual is victimised for one day or one year is irrelevant. If Canadian laws are being broken, the RCMP would take action," Bindra said.