Ontario Releases a New and Comprehensive Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking

$307 million invested to protect children and youth, crackdown on offenders

The Voice of Canada News:

ST. CATHARINES  — The Government of Ontario is taking strong action to protect children and youth, support survivors, raise awareness and hold offenders accountable by releasing Ontario’s new anti-human trafficking strategy.

Premier Doug Ford, Jill Dunlop, Associate Minister of Children and Women’s Issues, and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones released a new, comprehensive five-year strategy to combat human trafficking and end child sexual exploitation across the province. The new strategy is the largest total investment in dedicated anti-human trafficking supports and services in the country and is a major step forward in Ontario’s fight against human trafficking.

“Human traffickers prey on the most vulnerable members of our society ― our children,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We must put an end to this disgusting industry and take immediate steps to keep our kids safe. Our new strategy takes strong and decisive action to support survivors, raise awareness, and give our police the tools and resources they need to put these criminals behind bars.” 

Ontario’s Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy will invest $307 million over the next five years on a proactive, comprehensive action plan focused on four key areas:

• Raising awareness of the issue by launching a new, province-wide marketing campaign to educate children, youth, parents, and the broader public about what human trafficking is, how to recognize the signs, and where to get help.
• Holding offenders accountable by giving law enforcement more specialized Crown prosecution support for human trafficking cases, strengthening intelligence gathering in the correctional system, and investing in police services to help coordinate anti-human trafficking investigations and expand the Ontario Provincial Police Child Sexual Exploitation Unit.
• Protecting victims and intervening early by investing in specialized intervention teams involving police and child protection services, incorporating human trafficking awareness into the education curriculum, and establishing dedicated, licensed residences to support victims, including those under the age of 16.
• Supporting survivors by investing new funding in wrap-around, community-based supports and Indigenous-led initiatives to make more services available for survivors and by enhancing victim services to assist survivors throughout the court process.

“Survivors of human trafficking require specific, ongoing supports to help them exit trafficking, heal from their trauma and rebuild their lives,” said Jill Dunlop, Associate Minister of Children and Women’s Issues. “Our new strategy doubles the investment in community-based services for survivors, while also providing a range of new supports focused on children and youth, which has been a critical gap until now. It provides increased supports for Indigenous communities and takes a cross-government approach to reinforce Ontario as a leader in combatting human trafficking.”

To address the needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and organizations, and frontline workers, Indigenous-specific initiatives are integrated throughout Ontario’s new strategy. Examples of these initiatives include targeted public awareness activities, Indigenous-led community-based supports for survivors such as counselling, cultural teachings and healing ceremonies, victim services delivered by Indigenous communities and organizations, and culturally-appropriate supports for at-risk youth.

“Human trafficking is a vastly under-reported crime often hidden in our communities,” said Sylvia Jones, Solicitor General. “A crucial component of our new strategy involves strengthening law enforcement and justice sector initiatives so we can better support victims, improve our ability to target and find perpetrators, intercept human trafficking networks and ultimately bring criminals to justice.”  

Co-led by Solicitor General Jones and Associate Minister Dunlop, Ontario’s new Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy demonstrates the government’s commitment to ensure the fight against human trafficking becomes a national priority. The strategy reflects valuable input from survivors of human trafficking, Indigenous communities and organizations, law enforcement and frontline service providers. The government will continue to work collaboratively with these and other partners to ensure the strategy is meaningful and effective.

Quick Facts

• Human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing crimes worldwide. Approximately two-thirds of police-reported human trafficking violations in Canada occur in Ontario.
• The average age of recruitment into sex trafficking is 13 years old.
• Over 70 per cent of human trafficking victims identified by police are under the age of 25.
• Young women and girls are particularly at risk, especially those from Indigenous communities and children and youth in care, though boys, men and people who are LGBTQ are also targeted.