Thread by @pancholi_rakhi

This Tuesday, @jkenney & the UCP introduced Bill 8 - Protecting Survivors of Human Trafficking Act. This is an incredibly important piece of legislation that affects children and adults who may be victims of sexual, labour or organ/tissue exploitation. #ableg #abpoli

The first opportunity to debate this legislation was on Wednesday and my colleagues and I were proud to stand up repeatedly and commend the government for bringing this legislation forward and indicate our general support for it. #ableg #abpoli

We were also very clear that due to the significance of the subject-matter & that many stakeholders were not even aware the legislation had been tabled or of its content, it was important that we do the job we were elected to do and ask questions about it & debate it. #ableg

Some of the questions we asked included:
- how would the Bill interact with related legislation like the Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act;
- what resources would be put in place to support victims to access their rights under the Act;
#ableg #abpoli

- clarity around the status and rights of Temporary Foreign Workers removed from human trafficking situations;
- why victims under the Act would have to prove a human trafficking order should not be changed if an abuser challenged it.
#ableg #abpoli

@jkenney and the UCP were outraged that we were asking questions about this important piece of legislation. They seemed to think that the global pandemic entitles them to pass whatever legislation they want in one day. #ableg #abpoli

The job of every MLA is to consider, debate, & ask questions of the legislation brought before us. Particularly when the Bill is as far-reaching & important as this, I will not give up my responsibilities or my privilege to debate it. It's what I was elected to do. #ableg #abpoli

I look forward to future opportunities to debate this Bill and to propose amendments for the government's consideration. I hope they will respect the democratic process and the role of the Official Opposition to do so. #ableg #abpoli