VANCOUVER -- The Archdiocese of Vancouver is urging a parliamentary committee to support the strengthening of legislation that bans most activities associated with prostitution, including the buying of sex, pimping and the keeping of a bawdy house.

The Calgary Catholic School District is partnering with country music star Paul Brandt’s non-profit #NotInMyCity to raise awareness and inspire action to end sexual exploitation and trafficking.

This past week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Leanne Timko. She is the director of learning services for the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) and an instrumental builder of the school board’s new human trafficking awareness education program. 

In a new pastoral letter on human trafficking and sexual exploitation, Canada’s bishops are calling for the continued criminalization of prostitution while also decrying treating sex as work.

The Joy Smith Foundation’s new National Human Trafficking Education Centre (NHTEC) is aiming to increase awareness of the scourge while providing greater support for survivors and their families.

When appraising the landscape through a global lens, a case can be made that 2021 has been a banner year in the fight against the evil, entrenched practice of human trafficking.

OTTAWA -- Ontario's government used the newly declared National Human Trafficking Awareness Day Feb. 22 to unveil major new funding and legislation as part of the province’s anti-human trafficking strategy, as governments in Canada continue to take action against what Pope Francis has called “a crime against humanity.”

VATICAN CITY -- As governments and world leaders struggle to contain the coronavirus pandemic, they must also work harder to protect victims of human trafficking, said the Vatican-based international network of Catholic charities.

VATICAN CITY -- Addressing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a Vatican representative said the protection of rights and human dignity is not exclusive to the wealthy but also to the most vulnerable, especially victims of human trafficking.

Ontario’s new five-year, $307-million strategy to combat human trafficking “looks really great on paper,” said Catholic Women’s League Ontario president Colleen Perry.

What’s a teenage girl worth? About $280,000 per year in income for sex traffickers, according to Covenant House research.

OTTAWA -- An organization associated with the Catholic Church in Canada is happy to see the issue of slave labour being addressed within the Canadian government, but says that a proposed bill introduced in the Canadian Senate falls short of taking meaningful steps to actually have a real impact.

Joy Smith is pleased that the Ontario government has stepped up with $20 million in annual funding to fight human trafficking, but these dollars and more need to be replicated by other provinces in combatting the problem.

OTTAWA -- To take on the scourge of human trafficking you have to first recognize that it is happening here.