6 people charged for human trafficking under new Ontario-wide police strategy

Six people have been charged with human trafficking offences in two joint investigations under a new province-wide police strategy.

The strategy, which involves 21 Ontario police agencies, was officially launched at a Wednesday news conference.

"Human trafficking is a transient crime," said OPP Deputy Commissioner Chuck Cox. "[Now] we can eliminate the challenge of jurisdictional boundaries."

The investigations, titled Project Harwich and Project Wrigg, have seen six people arrested and charged with a combined 51 Criminal Code offences. 

Human trafficking across Ontario and beyond

Project Harwich was conducted by Barrie, Ont. police, according to an OPP news release.

In January 2021, Barrie's Human Trafficking Unit began investigating a man suspected of trafficking an adult female. The investigation found that victims were being trafficked out of Barrie hotels by two individuals. 

The two were arrested and charged separately, one on May 19 and the other on Nov. 13. They account for eight of the charges laid.

Project Wrigg was initiated by Kingston police and supported by the OPP. 

On Jan. 5, officers began investigating the sexual assault and trafficking of a female victim from Toronto to Edmonton. The investigation found several more potential victims throughout Ontario and Quebec.

Project Wrigg resulted in the arrest of four people this past October. They account for 43 of the total charges. 

Anti-human trafficking advocates react

Kelly Tallon Franklin is the founder and CEO of Courage for Freedom, a survivor-led charity that provides support to victims of human trafficking and their families. 

"It is an incredible announcement," she said. "[But] there's a lot of problems that still are not addressed by this strategy."

Buyers in human trafficking transactions need to be arrested and charged too, Franklin said. 

"Buying a person for sex in Canada under the laws of [the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act] is a crime and we continue to not see those arrests," she said. 

Tiana Sharifi, a board member for the BreakFree Collective, a Toronto-based anti-human trafficking non-profit, agreed that purchasers are just as much a part of the problem as the traffickers themselves. 

"The industry wouldn't exist and traffickers would not exist if there was not a demand," Sharifi said.

She said she is hopeful the new strategy will allow the various agencies to work together to monitor larger areas that go beyond jurisdictional boundaries, like highway 401, which has been proven to be an important corridor for traffickers.

At Wednesday's news conference, Kingston Police Chief Antje McNeely urged the public to become educated on the signs of human trafficking. 

"The indicators of human trafficking are subtle, but they exist," she said. "If we do not know what to look for, we cannot help family members or friends who may be at risk."

Anyone with more information about either of these investigations is asked to contact the OPP, Barrie police or Kingston police. Concerned members of the public can also call the national human trafficking hotline at 1-833-900-1010.