A Lethbridge case where a man accused of human trafficking was granted bail and re-arrested shortly afterwards has been cited as an example of what advocates describe as a problem across Canada.
Country music artist Paul Brandt, founder of #NotInMyCity, an organization working to prevent, disrupt and end sexual exploitation and human trafficking, said the Lethbridge case has drawn international attention.
While the case is devastating for victims, he said, he believes it offers an opportunity to educate the public about how human trafficking operates and why changes to Canada’s bail system are needed.
“We’re seeing this, you know, this bail issue happen across the entire country and so we’re advocating for bail reform. We’re also advocating for stronger sentences,” Brandt said. “We really have a growing group of people across the country that are agreeing with this, that we need to see strong sentences and we have to send signals that are really strongly deterring these crimes, especially as they relate to kids.
Brandt said this work is also connected to a push that started last year after a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that eliminated the one-year mandatory minimum prison term for possessing or accessing child sexual abuse material, a term many know as child pornography.
“You know, you hear about human trafficking and then this other topic, and you might wonder why is the connection there? But, child sexual abuse material is, in essence, the marketing department for human trafficking.”
Brandt said most people misunderstand how trafficking begins, often imagining physical restraints rather than manipulation.
“It doesn’t often start with chains,” he said. “It starts with trust and an abuse of trust.”
The #NotInMyCity founder added that girls and women make up the majority of trafficking victims in Canada, and he said many were first sexually abused as children.
“Rooting out this issue in childhood and understanding the connection to early childhood trauma is really, really important.”
“We’re asking people to go to notinmycity.ca, take our free e-learning program to learn about the basics of what you need to look for with human trafficking and what you need to do when you see it.”
Along with the course, Brandt is asking the community to sign the petition on the website and to contact members of Parliament about wanting to see stronger sentences.
“We want to see more attention put on these crimes to make sure that they’re not happening in the first place.”
He added that empowering communities is key to preventing trafficking and shared a story of an employee at one of the organization’s partner airports in Canada who identified a trafficking victim after completing the training.
“It’s virtually impossible to traffic an empowered child and for traffickers to work within an empowered community,” he said.
Brandt encouraged people to visit notinmycity.ca to learn more and take part in the organization’s education efforts.
“There is hope,” he said. “There is something we can do about this.”
Brandt acknowledged the subject matter is dark and can be difficult, but he wants to remind people there is something that can be done.
