Human trafficking on the rise in Maritimes, RCMP say

Human trafficking is on the rise in the Maritimes, according to the RCMP.

RCMP officers, front line aid workers, medical professionals and representatives of government agencies met at a conference in Moncton on Wednesday to discuss the growing problem and help raise awareness.

"I really don't think people see it as an issue within Canada, or really in their own backyard," said Stacey Dort, president of the Atlantic Halfway House Association, a non-profit group that sponsored the conference.

Since 2004, only five cases of human trafficking have appeared before the courts in Atlantic Canada — all of them in Halifax, said Cpl. Chantal Roger, who gave a presentation on the issue.

And while no one has ever been charged with human trafficking in New Brunswick, that doesn't mean it's not happening, said Roger, who is based in Fredericton.

"It's happening everywhere in the country, so New Brunswick is not an exception, " she said.

Anybody could be at risk. It could be you, it could be me.- RCMP Cpl. Chantal Roger

"Anybody could be at risk. It could be you, it could be me. There's some lower social class, but there's higher class as well that has been seen across the country."

Human trafficking is best described as exploitation of a person for another person's financial gain, she said.

There's sexual exploitation, with victims being forced to be sex trade workers or exotic dancers. And there's also labour exploitation, with recruiters preying on vulnerable people who are often looking for a better life, she said.

"So that could be immigrants that come here and basically work in a restaurant or work for no wages. They are basically trying to get those people to do a lot of work for nothing."

Most victims in Canada are females between the ages of 14 and 22, said Roger.

They are often Caucasian, but trafficking recruiters are increasingly focusing on the indigenous population, she said.