Alberta announces $3.5M for 20 anti-human trafficking organizations

February 22, 2024 Canuck

The province is using $3.5 million in funding to help support 20 anti-human trafficking organizations in Alberta.

The UCP made the announcement on Thursday to coincide with National Human Trafficking Day,

Observed every Feb. 22, the day serves as a time to raise awareness for, and develop ways to combat, human trafficking.

Human trafficking is forced participation in the sex trade or labour market, where manipulation is used to exploit individuals and take away their choice, according to the Joy Smith Foundation, a Canadian organization dedicated to fighting human trafficking and supporting victims.

The province says in 2022, there were 528 police reported incidents of human trafficking in Canada, but most go unreported, and the true number of cases and victims in unknown.

Anti-human trafficking community organizations receiving government funding include:

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

In 2023-2024, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams‘ (ALERT) human trafficking units reported making 30 arrests, laid 212 charges, and made 76 victim interventions in the province.

“By design, this is an industry that operates in the shadows of society,” said Acting Staff Sgt. Liana Deegan said in a news release.

“It is integral that we break the taboo and talk about human trafficking, because the reality is that it’s happening here, in our backyards, in communities urban and rural.”

The average age people are forced into the sex trade in Canada is 13-years-old, according to the Joy Smith Foundation.

The organization says 93 per cent of sex trafficking victims in Canada are Canadian.

“This is something that’s happening in communities right across Canada,” said Janet Campbell, CEO and president..

“Within one-kilometer of where you are, someone is being lured into the sex-trade.”

Campbell says knowledge is the greatest protection against human trafficking, the more we understand the more we can prevent it.

“Youth are incredible vulnerable in being targeted and trafficked,” she said.

In October 2022, Alberta’s government committed more than $20 million in new funds over four years to step up the fight against human trafficking.

Signs of human trafficking

Sudden interest in a man several years older;
New clothing, jewelry, or gifts without having money;
Frequent sleepovers at a friend’s house;
Sudden change in style of dress of makeup;
New circle of friends and isolation from their old group;
Change in attitude towards school, regular activities, and friends;
Grades at school are dropping;
Unexplained cuts or bruises;
Using two cell-phones.

“We want people to take a closer look at the changes in behaviour and understand what’s going on,” said Campbell.

Human trafficking support

If you suspect that you or someone you know is being exploited you can call the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-800-900-1010, or reach out via the organization’s chat hotline.

Information and other resources are also available from the The Candian Centre to End Human Trafficking.

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