Alberta government is helping to combat human trafficking

The Alberta Government has taken an additional step to help combat human trafficking in Alberta.

They announced on February 22nd, which also is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in Canada, that they will be providing $3.5 million in funding to 20 anti-human trafficking community organizations throughout Alberta.

Between 2012 and 2022, there were 3,996 police-reported incidents of human trafficking in Canada, accounting for .02 per cent of all police-reported crimes.

In 2022, 528 police reported incidents of human trafficking occurred in Canada, which was down from the 555 incidents reported in 2021.

Even though human trafficking takes place in various forms, those being trafficked for sexual exploitation are the most detected and encountered forms of trafficking by law enforcement in Canada.

While men and boys are victims of trafficking, trafficking for sexual exploitation disproportionately impacts women and girls.

On top of that, certain groups, such as vulnerable youth and those who experience social or economic marginalization, are more susceptible to becoming victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation purposes.

Another form of human trafficking is trafficking for forced labour, but unlike trafficking for sexual exploitations, these victims vary by age and gender depending on geography and economic sector.

The $3.5 million provided by the provincial government will help the organizations to enhance the services they provide on the front lines, as well as help expand their operational capacity so they can help more people, and reach the vulnerable populations including youth, Indigenous, and newcomers.

"Human trafficking is an unthinkable crime that denies a person their safety, freedom and individuality. Fighting this heinous crime is a key priority for Alberta’s government," said the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis. "The funding we’ve announced will be used by community organizations and service providers to increase and strengthen wraparound supports for survivors, break the cycle of recidivism for victims and support efforts to uproot the criminal networks profiting from the cruelty they inflict on Albertans."

The organizations receiving the funding will use their expertise to ensure the resources are allocated wherever they will be best suited in combating human trafficking.

The provincial government says it's crucial that they work alongside front-line workers as they are working with those who are currently being trafficked, or have been trafficked in the past, all while working to prevent others from becoming victims of trafficking.

One of the 20 organizations receiving funding is the Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service.

"With the help of this grant from the Government of Alberta the Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service will create innovative initiatives to address human trafficking alongside and in collaboration with our youth, community members, and law enforcement partners designed specific to Indigenous communities," explained Dawn-Lyn Blake of the Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service.

On top of the funding to combat human trafficking, the Alberta government named Angela Adsit and Paul Brandt as the new co-chairs for the Alberta Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons board of directors.

In that role, Brandt and Adsit will help provide survivor-centered and culturally relevant guidance to the board of directors.

In response to recommendations by the Alberta Human Trafficking Task Force, the Alberta Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons will do their part to help increase awareness of human trafficking as a province-wide issue.

They will also help support a coordinated approach to confronting human trafficking.

The full list of community organizations that will be receiving government funding is below:

• ALERT
• Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation (CEASE)
• RESET Society of Calgary
• Waypoints
• Action Coalition on Human Trafficking Alberta (ACT Alberta)
• Catholic Social Services
• HER Victory
• #NotInMyCity
• Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre
• Community Response Model (Hull Services)
• Alberta Human Trafficking Provincial Network
• #NotInMyCity – The Maddison Sessions
• Edmonton Multicultural Health Brokers
• Kainai Transition Centre Society
• Metis Child & Family Services Society
• Native Counselling Services of Alberta
• Creating Hope Society of Alberta
• Wood Buffalo Wellness Society
• Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service
• Policy Wise – HT Data Portal
• Calgary Centre for Newcomers

For anyone interested in learning more about human trafficking and ways to help, you are encouraged to take the 30-minute online course Mobilizing Communities to Disrupt Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking in Canada.