Bill S-235 explained in plain English
An Act respecting the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 45th Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill S-235 creates a federal framework to combat human trafficking through a national strategy requiring regular updates, annual reports, and alignment with international human rights standards.
Bill S-235 establishes a National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, requiring the federal government to create, update, and regularly review the strategy. It mandates annual reporting and periodic reviews every five years. The strategy must address prevention, support for survivors, and align with international human rights obligations.
- Defines human trafficking using existing Criminal Code provisions
- Requires the Minister of Public Safety to maintain and update the National Strategy
- Mandates annual implementation reports and biennial reviews of the strategy
- Incorporates international human rights obligations into the strategy
- Establishes reporting requirements for review findings to Parliament
- Federal government (Minister of Public Safety)
- Human trafficking survivors
- Law enforcement agencies
- International partners
- Parliament (through reporting requirements)
- The exact scope of the National Strategy's content requirements is not fully detailed in the provided text
- Specific metrics for measuring strategy effectiveness are not outlined
- Implementation mechanisms for the strategy are not specified
Defines human trafficking offenses (sections 279.01-279.03) that the National Strategy must address
Requires the strategy to align with international human rights standards related to gender equality
Mandates the strategy to meet international obligations for combating human trafficking
Requires the strategy to protect children's rights in human trafficking prevention and response
Ensures child protection measures are included in the National Strategy
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
Bill S-235's first reading in the Senate on September 25, 2025, formally introduced the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking Act into the legislative process without advancing its legal content.
This record documents the first reading of Bill S-235 in the Senate on September 25, 2025. During this procedural step, the bill was formally introduced and its title was read aloud, marking its initial entry into the Senate's legislative process. No debate or votes occurred at this stage. The bill is now progressing to the second reading stage in the Senate. Similar bills (S-263 and C-308) were previously introduced in earlier sessions but are not directly related to the current status of S-235.
This is an HTML-formatted Senate sitting transcript from September 25, 2025, containing speeches by senators but requiring HTML parsing to access the full debate content.
The provided data represents a Senate sitting transcript from September 25, 2025, formatted in HTML. It includes speaker names, debate content, and metadata about the source. The text contains parliamentary proceedings with speeches from senators, but the exact content of the debates is not fully visible due to HTML formatting. The metadata indicates this is an official Senate sitting record, but the actual debate text requires parsing HTML tags to extract plain language.
Bill S-235 successfully passed second reading in the Senate and was sent to committee on May 26, 2026.
This record shows that Bill S-235, An Act respecting the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, completed its second reading stage in the Senate on May 26, 2026. Following this, the bill was referred to a committee for further consideration. The record also notes speeches were made by Senator Salma Ataullahjan (Sponsor) and Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne (Response) during the second reading.
On May 26, 2026, the Senate debated Bill S-235 on combating human trafficking at second reading, referred it to committee, and passed Bills S-5 and S-214, while also addressing other government business and inquiries.
The Senate convened for a sitting on May 26, 2026. The sitting included the usual business of the Senate, such as Senators' Statements and Routine Proceedings. Several notices of motion were given, and committee reports were presented. The Senate also continued debate on or advanced several bills. Notably, Bill S-235, concerning a national strategy to combat human trafficking, was debated at second reading and referred to committee. There was also a third reading debate on Bill S-5 (Connected Care for Canadians Act) and Bill S-214 (Special Economic Measures Act), both of which were passed. Discussions also touched on various other matters, including Eid al-Adha, Africa Day, human rights, forced adoptions, the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, the ParlAmericas Plenary Assembly, the situation in Gaza, the future of Canadian news media, and the vital role of immigrants.
On May 26, 2026, the Senate debated and advanced several bills, including passing Bill S-5 and Bill S-214, referring Bill S-235 to committee, and heard statements on various social and cultural issues, alongside routine proceedings and continued debates on other matters.
This artifact details the proceedings of the Senate on May 26, 2026. The Senate convened, and after a brief discussion about technical issues with the bells, the proceedings began with Senators making statements on various topics, including Eid al-Adha, Africa Day, Aging and Human Rights, Forced Adoptions, Canadian Forces Snowbirds, and the ParlAmericas Plenary Assembly. Routine proceedings included the presentation of a committee report on Bill C-14 and first readings of several other bills. The Senate then moved to Orders of the Day, with discussions and decisions on several bills, including Bill S-5 (Connected Care for Canadians Act) which reached third reading and was passed, Bill S-214 (Special Economic Measures Act) which also reached third reading and was passed, and Bill S-235 (National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking) which was referred to committee after second reading. Other proceedings included the adoption of a committee report on official languages, and continued debates on motions regarding the situation in Gaza and the future of Canadian news media, as well as inquiries on the vital role of immigrants and the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Korean War years. A committee was also authorized to hold in camera meetings.
Bill S-235, aiming to establish a National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, is currently under consideration by a Senate committee following its referral and second reading.
Bill S-235, concerning a national strategy to combat human trafficking, is currently at the stage of consideration in a Senate committee. The last procedural activity recorded for this stage was its referral to committee on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. The bill had its first reading on Thursday, September 25, 2025, and its second reading on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, which included speeches from Senator Salma Ataullahjan and Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne.
Bill S-235 has not yet reached the Senate Report stage and was last referred to committee following its second reading.
This record indicates that Bill S-235, concerning a National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, has not yet reached the Report stage in the Senate. The bill was referred to committee on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, after its second reading on the same day. Major speeches were made by Senator Salma Ataullahjan (Sponsor) and Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne in response during the second reading.
Bill S-235, aimed at establishing a national strategy to combat human trafficking, has not yet reached the third reading stage in the Senate, having been referred to committee after second reading.
This record indicates that Bill S-235, concerning a national strategy to combat human trafficking, has not yet reached the third reading stage in the Senate. The bill was referred to a committee on May 26, 2026. Its first reading occurred on September 25, 2025, and second reading on May 26, 2026, with related speeches noted. Previous similar bills are also mentioned.
Bill S-235, concerning a National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, has reached first reading in the House of Commons, though this specific stage is marked as not yet reached, with its current progress being in committee in the Senate.
This record shows that Bill S-235, An Act respecting the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, has reached the first reading stage in the House of Commons. This stage is marked as 'Not reached' in the provided artifact details, indicating it has not yet occurred or been processed in this specific context. The bill's current status is 'At consideration in committee in the Senate,' and its latest activity was a referral to a Senate committee on May 26, 2026. The first reading in the House of Commons is listed with a date of September 25, 2025. The record also notes that second reading occurred on May 26, 2026, in the Senate, with speeches from Senator Salma Ataullahjan and Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne. Information about similar bills (S-263 and C-308) from a previous parliamentary session is also included for context.
The House of Commons Second Reading stage for Bill S-235 has not yet occurred, and the bill is currently being considered by a Senate committee.
The artifact describes the 'House of Commons Second Reading' stage for Bill S-235, An Act respecting the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking. This stage has not yet been reached. The official record shows that the bill's current status is 'At consideration in committee in the Senate'. The latest activity recorded was its referral to a Senate committee on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. The record also notes that second reading in the Senate occurred on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, with speeches from Senator Salma Ataullahjan and Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne. Similar bills from previous Parliaments (S-263 and C-308) are also mentioned.
Bill S-235 has not yet reached the House of Commons consideration in committee stage, and its current status is at consideration in committee in the Senate.
This artifact indicates that Bill S-235, An Act respecting the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, has not yet reached the stage of "Consideration in committee" in the House of Commons. The bill's current status is "At consideration in committee in the Senate." The latest activity noted for the bill was its referral to a committee in the Senate on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. The artifact also lists information about the bill's first and second readings in the Senate, including the dates and the sponsors of major speeches.
Bill S-235, concerning a national strategy to combat human trafficking, is at the Report stage in the House of Commons, which has not yet occurred, while the bill is currently under committee consideration in the Senate.
This artifact describes the procedural status of Bill S-235, An Act respecting the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking. The bill has reached the Report stage in the House of Commons, but this stage has not yet been reached. The bill is currently being considered by a committee in the Senate. The artifact also lists similar bills introduced in previous parliamentary sessions and their procedural status.
Bill S-235, an Act respecting the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, has not yet reached the Third Reading stage in the House of Commons and is currently under consideration in a Senate committee.
The artifact indicates that Bill S-235, concerning a National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, has not yet reached the Third Reading stage in the House of Commons. The bill's current status is "At consideration in committee in the Senate". Information provided includes the bill's progression through readings and committee referrals in the Senate, with dates for First and Second Readings. It also lists major speeches given during the Second Reading in the Senate and mentions similar bills introduced in previous parliamentary sessions.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced