Ontario Continues the Fight Against Human Trafficking

The Voice of Canada News:

TORONTO — Premier Doug Ford, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, and Jill Dunlop, Associate Minister of Children and Women’s Issues, made the following statement in recognition of Human Trafficking Awareness Day:

“Today we have a valuable opportunity to raise awareness and continue the fight against human trafficking to protect children and women. This heinous crime robs victims of their dignity and safety, and has a devastating impact on their lives, their families and their communities.

Human traffickers target the most vulnerable in our communities, predominantly young women and girls. Two-thirds of all human trafficking cases in Canada occur in Ontario and the average age of recruitment is 13 years old.

Our government is committed to keeping children and women safe. We are building stronger, safer communities and providing police services with the resources they need to combat this horrible crime. As a result, we are investing $20 million annually to support survivors and to get tough on offenders with anti-human trafficking law enforcement initiatives.

We’ve heard from survivors, law enforcement, Indigenous communities and frontline service providers. Their insights and perspectives are helping us develop a new province-wide anti-human trafficking strategy that we will launch in the coming weeks.

As parents ourselves, ending human trafficking remains a top priority for our government as we work to keep communities and families safe. We will continue the fight against human trafficking, and work towards a day where everyone can live free from exploitation and violence.”