Human trafficking charge in Airdrie spurs group to dispel myths

An Alberta organizationthat advocates for victims of human traffickingis reminding the public about the misconceptions of the crimeafter a 25-year-oldAirdrieman was chargedThursday in a case involving a minor.

The charges came while police were investigating a youth who had been reportedmissing and subsequently found evidence the minor was analleged victim of human trafficking and prostitution.

Action Coalition on Human Trafficking in Alberta(ACT Alberta) is also highlighting theannual reportreleased by the U.S. State Department this week thatoutlines governmentresponse country by country to human trafficking and ranks them on a tiered scale.

Though Canada retained its Tier 1statuswhich means the federal government adheres to minimum standards set by the U.S. Department of State improvements are still needed, the report found.

• Red Deer pair charged with human trafficking face labour law offences
• Human traffickers going unpunished in Canada, experts say

In 2014, there were 261 alleged traffickingvictims in Canada and police charged 121 people in 77 cases. Human trafficking is defined as the act of forcing, coercingor deceiving an individual into selling sex or labour for the personal gain of another.

In Albertathere had been 19 human trafficking specific chargesas of August 2014.

AndreaBurkhart, a spokeswoman for ACT, said her organization works with theRCMPto get thehard numbers.

"But we know it far exceeds19," shesaid.

Human trafficking myths

Canada remains a source, transit and destination country for men, women and childrenwho become victims of sexual exploitation and forced labour, says the U.S. report. It also noted many victims come to Canada legally but then are eventually ensnared by traffickers.

ACT Alberta has collecteddata on trafficking in Alberta, which dispels some myths:

• Nearly half of all victims are Canadian citizens.
• Not all victims are women and children andone in four victims are men.
• Sexual exploitation is not the most common trafficking violation, but rather nearly 50 per cent of cases are related to labour trafficking.
• Of all cases, organ trafficking accounts for 1.1 per cent of incidents.

ACT Alberta, which offers services to victims of trafficking, said the issue in the province is not exclusive to big urban centres. Most recently in Red Deer, there was a case whichinvolved seven temporary foreign workers. There have been previous cases in Edmonton and Calgarytoo.

The U.S. study also pointed out what it calls a troubling trend.

Canada had only issued five temporary resident permits (TRPs) to trafficking victims, down from 14 the previous year, 26 in 2012 and 53 in 2011.

"We spend a lot of time advocating for this," saidBurkhart.

TRPsallow people six months of health care andaccess tocounseling.

"It helps keep people safe, at least on a short-term basis."

ACT Alberta released an infographicwith statistics on the province's human trafficking crimes: