Exclusive: Danielle Smith on Human Trafficking

Canadians often speak of slavery as though it is a relic of the ancient past that we have overcome, but the truth is that there are more slaves in the world today than ever before. Conservative estimates from the Global Slavery Index suggest nearly 50 million people are currently enslaved, and numerous sources estimate that nearly 30 million of the individuals trapped in slavery are ensnared within human trafficking.

This insidious industry — which treats human beings as commodities for forced labour and sex work — operates within the shadows, rendering accurate estimates a nearly impossible task. It is entirely possible that the real number of victims is much higher.

Many have comforted themselves with the idea that these types of things don’t happen in Canada, but they are sorely mistaken. Human trafficking happens everywhere, not just in far off lands. In fact, in the last decade alone, there have been more than 3500 cases of human trafficking in Canada, and those are just the cases we know about.

Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party are taking the fight to human traffickers and have committed $4 million to establishing an office with the sole task of tackling this grievous human rights violation in Alberta.

I was joined by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to discuss some of the key players who prompted the creation of this new office, and why she believes that human trafficking is finally being thrust into the light — both via her government's work but also in popular culture with films like Sound of Freedom.

I also asked the premier whether the announcement of this office was in any way connected with the decision to pause efforts to transition policing in Alberta from the RCMP towards a provincial authority. And finally, I provided Premier Smith with an opportunity to share a message with anyone in the province engaged in or benefitting from human trafficking, to which she began her reply with a resolute, “not here”.

The United Conservative Party has been far from perfect since its inception. Danielle Smith has made mistakes and admitted to them, but despite all of that one can’t help but notice that on difficult issues like addiction, and now human trafficking, Alberta has a government that, at least on these grounds, is doing something uncommon in this day and age; striving towards unambiguous moral good.

Cities across Canada are spiralling into decay, whether it be state-funded drugs flooding the streets or soft-on-crime authorities contributing to an increase in human trafficking. Something has to change.

Canadians can’t go for a walk downtown after dark without putting their safety at risk anymore. To learn more about the sad state of affairs in Canada, and to learn about the rare instances when governments actually do something about it, visit FixOurCities.com.