Western Standard - Partnerships to combat human trafficking

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00:13:00.000 well thank you so much elder bastian for starting us off in a good way uh elder bastian told me he

00:13:19.920 hails from the first nation peccani on in treaty six territory and i'm just delighted that he

00:13:26.480 started us off with a note of hope and optimism and i'm pleased to be here with mike ellis minister

00:13:32.240 of public safety and emergency services and a group of people representing organizations

00:13:37.040 who have done so much to support our vulnerable populations i should also acknowledge i see mayor

00:13:42.400 jody gondek is here as well for us today in this announcement thank you for for being here mayor

00:13:47.840 but we have paul brandt from not in my city you've just heard from elder bastion he's also known by

00:13:52.880 Blackfoot name, Buffalo Bull Shield. I think I got it. You'll have to say it in the proper

00:14:00.020 language of Paul. Jan Fox from Reach Edmonton, Marlene Orr from Native Counseling Services of

00:14:06.480 Alberta, and April Eve Weiberg of the Mikisoo Cree First Nation. Seeing so many people and

00:14:12.520 organizations coming together for a just cause reminds me of the old saying about how evil

00:14:17.700 only triumphs when good people do nothing. Well, not here, not in Alberta. In Alberta, good and

00:14:24.520 decent people are fighting the stain of human trafficking. It's a sick trade run by sick 0.98

00:14:29.660 individuals for sick ends. It persists in the shadows, destroying the bodies and minds of

00:14:35.380 vulnerable, innocent people, mostly women and girls, and often Indigenous people. And Alberta's

00:14:41.600 government is doing its part to end this disgrace. Unfortunately, we don't need to look too far for

00:14:47.160 evidence of human trafficking in alberta earlier this month work by the alberta law enforcement

00:14:52.680 response team resulted in three individuals from edmonton facing numerous human trafficking charges

00:14:58.760 in may a calgary man was charged with multiple offenses including charges related to human

00:15:03.400 trafficking in february an edmonton man was charged with multiple offenses including trafficking in

00:15:09.240 persons these three examples alone include over 20 identified victims with police and organizations

00:15:16.120 trying to identify and support dozens of victims we can't afford to close our eyes to this problem

00:15:22.600 and we can't afford to ignore those who are at risk of being trafficked or those who have been

00:15:27.240 trafficked that's why we will be implementing we will be spending 22 million dollars over the next

00:15:34.440 three years to implement the recommendations of alberta's human trafficking task force which as

00:15:40.200 you know was chaired by paul brandt one of those recommendations was setting up the alberta office

00:15:46.440 to combat trafficking in persons this office shouldn't be necessary and hopefully one day we

00:15:52.520 will no longer need it but until that time this office will bring together survivors of human

00:15:57.480 trafficking with community partners like social services providers and indigenous organizations

00:16:03.000 who are best positioned to help find a way out and a path forward our goal is to create a hybrid

00:16:09.880 model that extends across the province disrupting and dissolving trafficking networks while helping

00:16:15.880 survivors to recover and rebuild to succeed we need to understand survivor stories and gather

00:16:21.720 insights that help survivors escape and heal we also need more comprehensive on the ground

00:16:26.920 information about how human traffickers operate and how they hide their activities so that we can

00:16:32.680 stop them in their tracks the alberta office to combat trafficking in persons will combine these

00:16:38.440 approaches allowing everyone involved to share knowledge so that we can better protect victims

00:16:42.840 survivors and others at risk of exploitation through this office with our partners we are

00:16:48.280 joining forces to stamp out the trade in human flesh and misery because no one should have their

00:16:53.960 lives derailed into sex work exploited for labor or trafficked for body parts no one who has endured

00:17:01.640 this trauma should be left to suffer in silence and no family should be left to wonder what

00:17:07.320 happened to their loved ones justice compassion and reconciliation demand action to fight human

00:17:13.640 trafficking and support survivors new and improved responses are on the way through this office and

00:17:19.240 the people in it and now i would like to ask minister mike ellis to share more details

00:17:31.480 well good morning ladies and gentlemen despite the rain this is actually a great day it is a

00:17:36.760 beautiful day in calgary and thank you to premier smith um all the wonderful people this is truly

00:17:44.680 uh something i always talk about uh you know being a role model uh on anything that we do whether it

00:17:50.360 be the mental health and addictions we do in the law enforcement community and this is no different

00:17:55.400 uh in being a role model uh for really the rest of canada if not north america to really follow suit

00:18:01.720 so i'm obviously grateful to be joined by such amazing partners that have been involved with

00:18:06.040 our government's focus on combating human trafficking over the past years. Specifically,

00:18:11.400 we're here with Paul Brandt, founder of Not My City. Sir, thank you for your endless

00:18:17.560 compassion to helping young people, helping anyone who's the victim of human trafficking,

00:18:24.120 and just God bless you, sir. Thank you. He and his team have been great partners in the fight

00:18:30.040 against human trafficking. He also chaired Alberta's Human Trafficking Task Force, as mentioned by

00:18:34.200 the premier marlene or with native counseling services of alberta we are so grateful to have

00:18:39.560 you here with us in all your advocacy to help people involved with human trafficking jan fox

00:18:48.280 with reach alberta i know i saw you and spoke to you as well thank you for your hard work in the

00:18:52.840 community i want to welcome april eve weiberg and thank her for being here with us today along with

00:18:58.280 so many community partners who have increased awareness in human trafficking oftentimes this

00:19:03.400 isn't an issue that is thought about in places like alberta but we need to understand that

00:19:08.200 trafficking happens and it happens here and in many forms the real uh this is a real issue uh

00:19:15.320 and we need to do our part to disrupt it in fact stop it the main categories of human trafficking

00:19:20.520 include labor and sex and tissue and organs this new office will be an important resource for those

00:19:26.280 impacted and entire communities as we know one of the best ways to disrupt human trafficking is to

00:19:32.840 raise awareness that is going to be a primary focus of the new alberta office to combat trafficking

00:19:38.680 in persons in addition it will offer an important frontline resource that is providing supportive

00:19:45.560 support to victims and survivors by connecting them with community resources that's why we have

00:19:51.160 partnered with expert organizations here with us today as they operate this new office human

00:19:57.480 trafficking in any form is fueled by secrecy and we're not going to allow that to happen in Alberta.

00:20:05.160 The actions of criminal groups and individuals in secrecy is targeting some of the most vulnerable

00:20:11.400 people in our society and that is unacceptable. As a former Calgary police officer myself,

00:20:18.200 I can tell you that the cases involving human trafficking are some of the worst that I saw

00:20:23.080 during my career and that's why today's announcement is so important for Albertans

00:20:28.280 just as we're treating other issues we're taking a holistic collaborative approach

00:20:33.480 to tackling this daunting challenge so while boots on the ground are indeed a key piece

00:20:38.600 on how we will fight human traffickers we're also making a big investment in the supports that

00:20:44.440 the Alberta office to combat trafficking of persons will offer we are confident the office

00:20:50.600 This will lead to victims and survivors having better access to supports that they need to

00:20:55.480 deal with the trauma so that they can live happy and healthy lives again.

00:21:00.740 At the same time, I'm eager to talk about and help to provide this information to make

00:21:07.860 our law enforcement bodies that even make them more effective in their efforts to uproot

00:21:13.820 human trafficking in organizations and their activities.

00:21:17.180 office is of course just the latest in what has become a lengthy list of steps that our government

00:21:21.500 has taken over the past four years. It started with the commitment to a nine-point action plan

00:21:26.940 to combat human trafficking, which are all completed or at least underway. It continued

00:21:34.780 with the passing of the Protecting Survivors of Human Trafficking Act, legislation to make it

00:21:39.660 easier for survivors to get protection orders and for police to take quicker action to rescue

00:21:45.260 survivors and much, much more. Then there was the Alberta's Human Trafficking Task Force,

00:21:51.340 which did an amazing job connecting directly with survivors and experts to provide helpful

00:21:57.420 recommendations to improve our efforts to undo trafficking networks and protect victims.

00:22:04.220 And now based on those recommendations, we find ourselves setting up this new office as part of

00:22:08.700 a three-year $22 million investment that we're making in this fight. This is real progress

00:22:14.780 for people who need it and we are not finished yet. We're grateful to be working with the experts in

00:22:21.340 these vital community organizations and look forward to providing you with updates along

00:22:26.700 the way. I encourage you to keep those affected by these crimes in your mind as we approach the

00:22:32.380 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons this Sunday, July the 30th. We're committed to doing

00:22:37.820 our part but we need collective awareness, understanding and action to end human trafficking.

00:22:44.060 So thank you. Thank you to everyone for being here to show your support on this very, very

00:22:49.740 important day. And with that, I'd like to introduce April E. Weiberg, a survivor of human trafficking,

00:22:55.580 to come to the podium. Thank you and thank you to Elder Leonard for your prayer and your blessing

00:23:07.900 this morning well i am really truly blessed to be here and thank you for inviting me

00:23:17.020 good morning friends i would like to acknowledge some very special people in my life they're a

00:23:22.940 part of my support circle i have my son here with me okichitao and my partner winston

00:23:30.140 my dear friend Bernadette Leah Liz and I don't see where they are Liz and Kate

00:23:39.640 with the Center to end all sexual exploitation oh my god you're saying

00:23:42.920 right beside me oh my goodness and of course my brother from another mother

00:23:50.300 Buffalo Bull Shield some of you know him as Paul Brandt and the not my city team

00:23:57.680 loving a survivor is not easy our healing journeys can be messy filled with often out

00:24:04.480 of nowhere triggers responses and flashbacks we are much like an onion with many complicated layers

00:24:14.000 17 years ago i was self-liberated from sexual exploitation before then i almost spent a decade

00:24:21.360 of my life being sold in cities across western canada and the united states in cities such as

00:24:28.240 edmonton fort mcmurray saskatoon vancouver las vegas and new york city when i was first targeted

00:24:36.720 and groomed i was taught to hide my my indigenous identity because i was told that the sex buyers if

00:24:44.640 they found out about this that i would be more likely to be beaten robbed raped or murdered

00:24:53.120 it was in new york city where i was being sold by an organized crime ring

00:24:57.600 i had almost succumbed to the violence and exploitation until a good friend who knew

00:25:03.360 what i had been involved in but who was also involved in the illicit drug trade

00:25:08.720 bought me a one-way plane ticket back to canada

00:25:13.120 today i know that if i did not leave new york city when i did

00:25:17.360 that i would have died there most likely becoming a jane doe 0.96

00:25:23.120 a murdered indigenous woman with no one to come find or identify me

00:25:28.720 because of my childhood and intergenerational trauma

00:25:32.000 i was hurt insecure and angry i was disconnected from my family and my

00:25:37.280 culture and i did not know my worth i was taught by my pimps and exploiters that all i had to offer

00:25:44.560 were my looks and my body it was just a few years ago that i thought i was not even worthy

00:25:50.720 of wearing a ribbon skirt like the one i'm wearing today because of what had happened to me today

00:25:59.680 however i know that i am sacred and i now know my true worth human trafficking for the purpose

00:26:06.480 of sexual exploitation is organized crime yes some may be more organized than others

00:26:13.440 however the effects of sexual exploitation and the complex harm it causes its victims is very

00:26:19.680 serious and can be deadly the groomers the pimps the profiteurs and the buyers must be held

00:26:25.920 accountable for these harms according to alerts 20 22 23 annual report over a 12-month period

00:26:35.280 a trafficker was arrested every 12 days in this province as long as the demand is high there will

00:26:43.040 be more and more victims the time for talk on this issue is over let's take action together

00:26:51.440 here are some ideas address buyer demand no buyers no business focus on efforts on healing recovery

00:27:01.680 justice and prevention the average age of an online child exploitation victim is 13.

00:27:09.120 learn to spot the signs of targeting and grooming an act of exploitation employ survivors believe

00:27:18.240 survivors help amplify our voices like the center of sexual center to end all sexual exploitation

00:27:25.520 and not in my city does keep working together involve survivors our families and our communities

00:27:32.960 harness the power of social media develop inclusive campaigns

00:27:39.680 regarding the cross-border nature of this issue

00:27:44.000 involve cesus the canadian security intelligence service and the fbi

00:27:49.600 and for our two-spirited relatives our men and boys they too are being targeted and groomed

00:27:58.080 and exploited we know that men and boys are also being groomed to become buyers and profiteers this

00:28:05.920 needs to be addressed again i want to thank elder leonard again for your prayer and your blessing

00:28:11.520 and thank you for being here today hi hi canada skumpton now i would like to invite my brother 0.90

00:28:18.160 from another mother buffalo bull shield up just come say a few words that's dumb 0.66

00:28:35.520 thank you april eve 0.89

00:28:40.320 premier smith deputy ellis deputy premier ellis esteemed colleagues elder bastion

00:28:46.080 task force members and special guests. Thank you for your advocacy, investment, support and

00:28:53.840 dedication to combating human trafficking, one of Canada's fastest growing crimes.

00:28:58.840 My name is Paul Brandt and as you've heard, Buffalo Bull Shield. I'm the former chair of

00:29:03.980 the Alberta Human Trafficking Task Force and the founder of Not In My City, a non-profit which

00:29:09.100 works to disrupt, prevent and end sexual exploitation and trafficking of children and

00:29:13.760 youth. We're a facilitative organization working to disrupt human trafficking by raising awareness,

00:29:20.320 creating a platform for collective action, mobilizing communities, promoting preventative

00:29:25.600 strategies, and facilitating transformational systems change. I'd like to thank the Not In My 0.97

00:29:31.680 City team for their dedication, expertise, and tireless efforts on behalf of those directly

00:29:37.840 impacted by human trafficking thank you for coming along on this journey with me and my wife liz this

00:29:44.800 is a proud day for all of us and we celebrate this success together i'd also like to thank reach

00:29:50.800 edmonton and native counseling services of alberta for their commitment and partnership

00:29:56.240 like three woven strands of sweet grass we're stronger together not in my city began our work

00:30:04.320 six years ago with a survivor focused approach and we're thankful for all of our community partners

00:30:09.680 including law enforcement and all involved in the alberta provincial human trafficking network which

00:30:15.520 not in my city founded and co-chairs who've collaborated so diligently on behalf of victims

00:30:21.760 and survivors of trafficking here in alberta in this short time we've seen our community

00:30:26.720 collectively step up to overcome gaps and understanding strengthen and streamline

00:30:31.840 existing systems and create pathways to a more unified and universal approach to preventing,

00:30:37.520 addressing and suppressing human trafficking. There's an awakening happening in Alberta.

00:30:43.840 There's a transformation taking place. I'm proud to be a part of a community who today

00:30:50.160 is gathering to put forward a collective commitment in the fight against modern-day slavery.

00:30:56.000 Led by the testimonies of survivors of human trafficking, today we're launching a new way

00:31:00.720 to address and prevent this crime in alberta and beyond and in this moment it's the voices

00:31:07.520 and experiences of those most deeply impacted by trafficking who we will amplify like a mexican

00:31:14.720 labor trafficking survivor who comes to mind right now his experience was shared with the alberta

00:31:21.360 human trafficking task force and upon being freed from exploitation here in canada this man said to

00:31:28.080 investigators and i quote last night i went to bed a slave this morning i woke up a free man

00:31:38.000 i think about people like madison fraser in my role as chair of the alberta human

00:31:43.120 trafficking task force together with members of that body many of whom are here today

00:31:48.080 we heard from madison's mother jennifer about the terrible account

00:31:51.520 of madison losing her life to trafficking here in alberta

00:31:55.760 We resolved that a new way of addressing and suppressing human trafficking would be implemented in our province when we heard her story.

00:32:03.860 Seeing the issue of trafficking through the lens of those who've been trafficked or directly impacted by trafficking has changed Alberta's approach to preventing and combating this crime.

00:32:13.980 And people like April Eve, who we have heard from today, also come to mind.

00:32:20.840 April Eve has become a sister to me, one who consistently reminds me that with my Indigenous

00:32:25.980 name bestowed on me by Elder Bastion, that I have a responsibility and a privilege of serving

00:32:33.660 Indigenous children and populations who are disproportionately impacted by trafficking

00:32:38.080 in Canada. April Eve is a strong and deliberate Indigenous leader who courageously is walking her

00:32:45.000 survivor's journey. She's pressed on through countless challenges, and in doing so has inspired

00:32:50.560 many others from her position of strength. She doesn't find her identity in her past, but instead

00:32:56.600 in her indigenous heritage, her hope for the future, and her infinite value as a unique and

00:33:02.760 precious individual. She has been a warrior for this cause. And her perseverance is being

00:33:26.800 rewarded today. Today's announcement comes as a direct result of the

00:33:37.360 willingness of survivors of human trafficking to share their stories.

00:33:41.760 April Eve, your story and the power of your voice is being heard. Thank you.

00:33:49.620 Thank you for your leadership. And so we're gathered here today on the

00:33:55.260 rooftop of Calgary's downtown Marriott Hotel to launch a new era in the fight against human

00:34:00.860 trafficking for Albertans. The setting is appropriate as it displays the DNA of the 0.99

00:34:05.980 Alberta office to combat trafficking in persons. An initiative which will combine the unique

00:34:11.260 capabilities of government, private industry, frontline service providers, and the community

00:34:16.520 in a new way which Canada has never seen. This made in Alberta approach will be working

00:34:24.120 alongside industry and government and community leaders. We're excited to be working alongside

00:34:30.560 the Marriott today as Marriott Hotels has long been a hospitality industry leader in the fight

00:34:36.700 against human trafficking. Their commitment and investment is the type of focus and dedication

00:34:41.440 needed from all stakeholders to truly transform the lives of those being exploited and to prevent

00:34:47.120 trafficking from happening in the first place. We commend this government's resolve and investment

00:34:52.900 toward this innovative approach to combat human trafficking.

00:34:57.720 To know better is to do better.

00:35:00.400 And today, with this commitment to employ a best and most promising practice,

00:35:04.940 survivor-centered and relational approach,

00:35:07.500 fortifying Alberta against trafficking,

00:35:09.800 we are setting the bar for the rest of Canada.

00:35:12.960 Make no mistake, human trafficking is a dark topic

00:35:16.560 and a difficult evil to comprehend.

00:35:19.140 It is force, fraud, and coercion,

00:35:21.400 and the deliberate exploitation of another person's misery for profit it can be hard to

00:35:27.400 see solutions but when we shine a light there's hope the formation of the Alberta office to

00:35:33.280 combat trafficking will shift the balance of power away from traffickers and those who would

00:35:38.360 victimize and exploit vulnerable individuals in our communities thanks to this initiative and

00:35:44.580 commitment the seeds have been sown for a safer trafficking free future for all with that I

00:35:51.380 I'd like to introduce Marlene Orr,

00:35:53.500 CEO of Native Counseling Services of Alberta

00:35:56.820 to come and bring words.

00:35:58.100 Thank you, Marlene.

00:36:09.620 Okay, Tansi.

00:36:12.540 Thank you, Elder Bastien

00:36:15.980 for starting us off today with a prayer

00:36:18.800 and a blessing and a wonderful song.

00:36:21.380 I am very honoured and humbled to stand in Treaty 7 territory, home of the Blackfoot,

00:36:30.260 Diné and Nakota Sioux.

00:36:33.860 Stand here with Premier Danielle Smith, Deputy Premier Ellis, former co-chair of the task

00:36:43.060 fours chief dale mcfee april eve and other honored guests

00:36:53.460 today i stand proudly in partnership with the alberta government reach edmonton and not in my

00:37:00.100 city to announce this unique initiative native counseling services of alberta has provide been

00:37:08.580 providing programs and services for Indigenous people developed by Indigenous people in the areas

00:37:15.940 many areas of justice for over 53 years. NCSA has evolved from a court worker program

00:37:24.740 assisting Indigenous people to navigate justice systems to an international leader in restorative

00:37:32.660 and social justice and csa's 40 years of producing high quality education training

00:37:40.340 and resource materials is unparalleled by any organization in canada

00:37:48.020 we look forward to leveraging our expertise our connection to indigenous people and communities

00:37:56.820 across the province to address this very complex and challenging issues related to human trafficking

00:38:08.980 working collectively with not in my city under the leadership of paul brandt who knows

00:38:17.060 more about human trafficking than anyone else i know

00:38:20.660 and the experienced coordination of REACH Edmonton under the excellent leadership of

00:38:31.300 Jan Fox, we will center survivors in our work of bringing police, community, industry, and

00:38:40.980 agencies together to collectively address and eradicate human trafficking.

00:38:50.660 Much gratitude to Minister Ellis for moving forward on this issue through the establishment

00:38:57.220 of the task force and the implementation of the recommendations in the Reading Stone Report

00:39:04.380 and the development of this unique office.

00:39:10.000 thank you so much to april eve for sharing your personal experiences

00:39:20.600 in a voice that has been clearly heard and acted on we're all very proud of you

00:39:29.220 thank you so much to paul brandt for his relentless pursuit of elimination of human trafficking

00:39:40.000 Honoured today to be a part of this initiative and I'm very grateful that the province has

00:39:49.680 heard and acted so swiftly on this issue.

00:39:54.760 Hi, hi.

00:39:56.760 Now I'd like to introduce Jan Fox from Reach Edmonton.

00:40:07.680 Thank you, Marlene.

00:40:08.680 Premier Smith, Minister Ellis, members of the task force that are here today and other

00:40:14.380 distinguished guests.

00:40:16.180 I'm very pleased to be here on Treaty 7 for this historic occasion.

00:40:21.200 Minister Ellis, it's been said several times, it needs to be said again, your personal commitment

00:40:25.060 and passion is absolutely inspiring and Premier Smith, it means the world to us that you're

00:40:29.640 here to share this day with us.

00:40:31.020 Thank you both so very much.

00:40:33.740 so very proud to be part of this incredible innovative approach to combat human trafficking

00:40:39.660 and to partner with Not In My City and Native Counseling Services of Alberta.

00:40:44.700 I also want to just take a second to make a special thanks to Marisol and Linnea from the

00:40:49.740 department for making this happen in an absolute seamless fashion. Just a word about my organization

00:40:56.300 REACH's aim is to make Edmonton and indeed Alberta a safer place for everyone. We are a

00:41:02.380 backbone organization meaning our role is to support in every way possible the work of our

00:41:08.140 partners who are closest to the ground enabling them to focus on the issues at hand our strength

00:41:15.180 is in engaging and convening diverse community partners to inform pilot and accelerate solutions

00:41:21.980 for complex challenges human trafficking is of course a complex problem and tackling it means

00:41:28.940 multiple partners working together across sectors and leveraging our collective strengths and

00:41:35.580 expertise we will also be working with other existing organizations and programs that are

00:41:41.340 working to end human trafficking key partners such as the city of edmonton cease act alberta

00:41:48.540 and our police partners of course edmonton police service calgary police service and the rcmp

00:41:54.220 we want to amplify what is already working in the community and be connectors when needed

00:42:00.940 we will facilitate and support community engagement and will help ensure the voices of

00:42:06.300 survivors are front and center and let me echo what others have said yes april eve your voice

00:42:11.740 has been heard we have used this collective impact approach extensively and successfully

00:42:17.820 through a number of programs in edmonton including a safer way out program that works

00:42:22.300 towards ending human trafficking and which relies very heavily on the voices of survivors

00:42:27.980 we know that this approach works and to scale it up on a provincial level is a huge landmark

00:42:34.300 i had the honor of being part of the task force that the minister and paul spoke about

00:42:39.820 when i first met paul i immediately saw his passion for the work he came to the reach office

00:42:45.180 to launch a new provincial network of service providers in the field of human trafficking

00:42:49.500 co-chaired by reach and not in my city as you can imagine it was quite the event paul brandt

00:42:55.340 in the reach office but you know having said this everyone was instantly captivated by his

00:43:02.060 compassion for people who had been victimized by human trafficking people almost forgot he

00:43:07.180 was a country superstar well almost he certainly had to sign autographs and do videos at the end

00:43:12.540 The task force that we have been referring to heard from multiple presenters from the

00:43:19.180 community who work in human trafficking daily. Most importantly, we heard the voices of many,

00:43:25.100 many survivors. It was these voices that shaped our recommendations.

00:43:30.380 We learned human trafficking disproportionately affects Indigenous women, and the first person

00:43:35.500 I thought of when we were thinking how we could attack this was Marlene Orr from Native Counseling 0.97

00:43:40.300 Services Alberta. She and her team are the ones that get things done. They create movement

00:43:46.480 and move things forward. The recommendation to create a provincial office to fight human

00:43:52.660 trafficking effectively is being recognized here today, and we couldn't be more grateful.

00:43:59.020 This will add huge capacity and momentum to prevent human trafficking and support survivors

00:44:03.660 with a victim and survivor lens. In summing up, I really want to thank our partners Native

00:44:09.640 counseling services of Alberta and not in my city for your leadership in the community and

00:44:14.840 partnership in making this happen working with these two organizations has truly been the highlight

00:44:20.600 of my career i cannot imagine a better partnership thanks again so much to the government of Alberta

00:44:26.680 for supporting this for the work of the task force and this initiative and our collective vision

00:44:31.880 we look forward to getting to work. Thank you so much.

00:44:40.680 We'll now go into our media Q&A. Thank you to all of our speakers there. We'll be going with

00:44:46.200 one question, one follow-up today and we'll be starting off here in person

00:44:50.040 and then headed over to the phones. I would ask those here in person if those

00:44:55.560 if those with on-topic questions could please line up the mic first just in front of myself here

00:45:00.440 and then we'll go over to the phones after we're finished in person uh aaron with live

00:45:11.880 our calgary a question for minister ellis uh minister ellis how many staff members are going

00:45:15.720 to be uh in this office and when can we expect the office to be fully operational

00:45:20.840 well that's a that's a good question i i don't know paul do you have any operational

00:45:25.720 answers to that? Thanks for that and thank you Deputy Minister. The early stages of the planning

00:45:34.040 for the office are just underway right now and so as a part of our discussions with our partners

00:45:40.200 in government and with the tripartite as well, we'll be putting together a more robust structure

00:45:47.720 to identify exactly who is going to be in the office and how many people will need to be there

00:45:53.400 to ensure we're doing the work that needs to be done here thanks i think the only thing i would

00:45:59.640 supplement with that to what paul was saying there is is that you know communication is how

00:46:04.200 we have an effective operation so right now you know paul and his team and all the wonderful

00:46:08.200 people are going to be associated to this um they're just making sure that as many of our

00:46:13.560 speakers indicated that we make sure that we're connecting with all the right stakeholders so

00:46:17.880 that we're all involved that's the only way we're going to solve this is everybody's involved in this

00:46:21.400 and i apologize i do have an off question for the premier um calgary skyview mp georgia hall

00:46:28.440 has called for the ending of federal funding towards the calgary stampede any kind of federal

00:46:32.040 support what is your reaction to that well i would say that the uh the tragedy of what happened at

00:46:38.840 young canadians was well known and i think that we need to make sure that kids are protected

00:46:47.880 and that adults and organizations that are responsible for kids have protections in place.

00:46:54.600 So we have asked the Calgary Stampede and the young Canadians to tell us what they have done

00:46:59.480 over the years to make sure that children are not exploited or victimized that way.

00:47:05.400 And I look forward to their response. And we'll go to our next question at the mic here.

00:47:12.440 my questions for uh paul brandt

00:47:20.840 so mr brent you've been involved for some time with uh fighting human trafficking with

00:47:25.640 all your advocacy how has this advocacy changed your life i i would say that the way that human

00:47:33.160 trafficking has changed my life began with the first exposure to trafficking

00:47:36.520 my wife and i had seen a documentary that was called children for sale that spotlighted the

00:47:44.800 issue of human trafficking and it wasn't on our radar at that time not long after we had the

00:47:49.240 opportunity to travel overseas and we saw trafficking activity the trafficking of children

00:47:53.760 happened firsthand it was a very traumatic experience as you can imagine for those children

00:47:59.060 who are being exploited some six to eight times a day by adult men it was also traumatic for my

00:48:05.300 wife and for myself, seeing that victimization with seemingly no interaction in any way that

00:48:15.880 was intervening on their behalf. And so it became a part of our lives, and we continued to lean in.

00:48:21.560 So I would say that our intersection with human trafficking changed our lives

00:48:26.340 in a way where I think as a father, I asked myself the question, how will I teach my son

00:48:33.040 to be a respectful young man in relation to the way that he addresses and interacts with women.

00:48:39.760 But the main thing for me was when I thought about my daughter. I wanted to give her a really good

00:48:45.440 answer when she was old enough to ask the question, Daddy, when you saw trafficking, what did you do

00:48:51.200 about it? We all have, I would say, different capacities to affect change in relation to the

00:48:58.880 issue of human trafficking but once we know about it we all have the same

00:49:03.060 responsibility and so it's taken me on a journey that I never would have expected

00:49:07.280 very unusual journey I would say for a country singer but it's definitely a

00:49:11.660 personal journey that has made a deep impact in my life and I'm honored to be

00:49:15.980 working on behalf of tracking victims and survivors so Premier Smith

00:49:27.920 The city of Saskatoon has announced that they're going to be renaming a street named after Sir John A. Macdonald, because for truth and reconciliation, what do you think about that?

00:49:38.140 I've asked my Minister of Infrastructure, Pete Guthrie, to work with culture, arts and culture, Tanya Fur, to develop a naming policy and protocol around buildings and streets so that we can be proactive in being able to address any issues and make sure that we've got a naming protocol that's going to stand the test of time.

00:49:58.720 So I will leave it to them to do their work and make some recommendations to us.

00:50:03.640 Thanks, Jonathan. And we'll go to our next question at the mic.

00:50:09.100 Hi, Kami Kepke, Global News. My question is for Premier Smith.

00:50:12.940 You mentioned that the province has reached out to Stampede to talk to them about what has been

00:50:17.980 done there. Could you give us a little clarification on the funding Stampede receives from the province

00:50:23.180 and whether the province will be looking at whether it continues to provide any funding?

00:50:27.340 We'll continue to supporting the Stampede, yes. It's the premier festival in Alberta. We just had

00:50:34.940 and very glorious and exciting and successful 10 days the the issue about exploiting children and

00:50:40.460 making sure children are safe is an issue young canadians has to answer and i can tell you what

00:50:45.980 i hear from other youth groups they have in place protocols to make sure that there is a criminal

00:50:52.140 record check for anyone who is involved in a direct contact with children they have annual

00:50:58.700 training for adults on how the proper way to interact with children and they also have

00:51:03.980 protocols to make sure that no child is ever alone in a room with an adult and so those

00:51:08.860 would be the kind of things i would be asking young canadians to let us know so that they can

00:51:13.100 address the issue remember this was reported in 2014 so the the perpetrator has been has been

00:51:19.980 held to held to justice but to make sure that there aren't any ongoing problems i would fully

00:51:25.020 expect that those would be the kind of protocols that are that are in place there and the other

00:51:29.260 one for me uh a doctor's clinic in marta loop has been going to paid services four days a week i'm

00:51:35.020 curious about your thoughts on this and the precedent it sets well it won't set a precedent

00:51:39.740 because we won't let it happen there is uh i signed a protocol with the federal government

00:51:44.700 for 10 years committing to the principles of the canada health act that means that you cannot

00:51:48.380 charge to access insured services if that's what they are doing they will be shut down they will

00:51:54.060 be fined or they will not we will withhold payments to them so it won't be allowed to happen thanks

00:52:04.940 premier smith for you as well please

00:52:10.780 what's your message to albertans as the ro reaches record highs being that one of your

00:52:16.140 campaign promises was to protect them from sky height utility rates my message is this is what

00:52:21.500 happens when ideology runs a power grid what we're dealing with today are a leftover and a hangover

00:52:28.380 from poor decisions by the ndp they phased out coal too early coal was a a long-term uh sustainable

00:52:35.820 way to provide low power they said they phased it out early costing billions of dollars we are

00:52:40.940 still going to be paying hundreds of millions of dollars until 2030 for the stranded assets

00:52:46.620 because of that investment at the same time they for some reason felt that they could bring on an

00:52:52.380 equivalent amount of wind and solar and get the same amount of power as coal and you cannot do

00:52:56.460 that wind and solar are intermittent and so we have had to build additional redundancy that costs

00:53:03.420 money in addition coal and natural gas plants are 800 megawatts the typical wind and solar

00:53:09.740 is 20 or 50 megawatts which requires massively more transmission and distribution to be built

00:53:15.980 and as a result because of intermittency redundancy early phase out of coal we are now at a point four

00:53:22.380 years later where people are paying up to 32 cents per kilowatt hour for power we are not going to

00:53:27.340 allow this to continue to happen that's why we oppose the federal government's plan to get to

00:53:32.940 a net zero power grid by 2035. the most recent report that was put out said that would cost 1.7

00:53:40.060 trillion dollars i haven't even seen an estimate of how much that would increase our power bills

00:53:45.580 but i'm told it could be up to five times higher so if anybody is wondering why we are battling

00:53:51.020 so hard with the federal government to make sure that we have a reasonable period of time

00:53:55.260 to phase in lower emission source of power this is why it's because ideology from the ndp and

00:54:01.340 their federal counterparts in the liberal party have created the problem that we have today and

00:54:05.020 and we're going to fix it it's my only question thank you thanks rick bell calgary sun

00:54:14.540 you're not that tall but a little taller do you want to talk to me here do you want to

00:54:17.740 yes of course you may as well stay up there well you're talking about bills so i am talking about

00:54:22.780 people's bills except this is something you have control over insurance auto insurance

00:54:28.780 the provinces the provinces automobile insurance rate board has a consumer report out now which

00:54:34.700 shows recently released shows that albertans are increasingly upset about the continued increases

00:54:42.460 in premiums even to people who have clean records and in fact very few albertans agree with the

00:54:51.820 statement that premiums are fair and reasonable just so you know the number is four percent

00:54:56.860 i've been reading your columns yeah so they're aware therefore you know and i and you know i

00:55:01.260 talked about this with you at christmas and you were very uh much committed to a change so could

00:55:07.020 you tell me what do you think and relate when you hear from albertans through this report about

00:55:15.660 their continued you know disdain for what's happening in the insurance business there's no

00:55:21.180 question that the insurance premiums in alberta are a problem we used to be able to have the lowest

00:55:27.580 rates in the country and it's not the case now so we had a pause on the year-over-year increases

00:55:33.660 we're not allowing insurance companies to increase insurance premiums until we've had a chance to do

00:55:38.220 a review we had an interruption on that with the um with the election and with the new finance

00:55:43.340 minister but uh as recently as last week i said it's time to get going let's figure out what some

00:55:48.780 of the recommendations will be for how we can bring rates down we put it to the insurers tell

00:55:53.180 us what you think you can do to assess to assist us in bringing these rates down for not only auto

00:55:59.100 but also for property and so that process is underway um i i haven't received a briefing yet

00:56:05.340 from um minister of the minister of finance about some of the recommendations he has coming forward

00:56:09.980 but i did just put in a call to his office next week and said let's let's accelerate this we've

00:56:13.980 got we've got to get some answers for people and my supplementary mr speaker is uh

00:56:23.100 what will that look like in other words your mandate letter that the mandate letter you sent

00:56:27.500 to the minister says you want to make it auto well insurance more affordable what is your definition

00:56:34.700 of what a more affordable that means does that mean because i know one of the insurance companies

00:56:39.500 the insurance companies basically say well we'll keep the rates low but we'll give you less

00:56:44.380 coverage well yeah right but so what is your thought about what that will look like by the

00:56:49.760 end of the year because obviously you're going to make a decision i can tell you a couple things

00:56:53.640 and what do you think of insurance companies who threaten albert saying we might pull out if you're

00:57:00.580 not nice to us you've read both of those i did i did read both of those and you put into context

00:57:06.200 how few uh people are covered by the one that that threatened to pull out look here's here's

00:57:11.800 what people expect people expect that if they have a clean driving record no accidents and

00:57:20.200 no speeding tickets that the rates are going to keep going down that's what people expect

00:57:24.360 that's how insurance is supposed to work and that's not what's happened and one of the issues

00:57:29.000 was that we now we've done the reversal of who pays the cost when and when an accident happens

00:57:35.160 So if you out drive a very expensive car and somebody rear ends you, then you pay for the repair of your own vehicle.

00:57:42.280 That's why a lot of people saw their prices go up, is that even though they had a clean driving record and they also had no accidents,

00:57:50.060 they were seeing their rates go up just because of the value of the vehicle they drove.

00:57:53.140 Most people think, you know what, the guy who hits me should be the guy who pays.

00:57:56.480 So I think we have to revisit that policy.

00:57:58.980 I think we also need to talk to auto manufacturers.

00:58:03.100 it used to be that fender benders which are the most common type of accident were cheap to repair

00:58:08.560 now they've got all the cameras and all this hidden damage in it and i know because i got

00:58:15.000 i got rear-ended too and it was a ten thousand dollar repair bill so we've got to be talking

00:58:19.640 to the uh auto industry about whether or not there's a better way for them to to be building

00:58:24.120 all those extra features in and then we also of course the insurance industry um raises the issue

00:58:30.860 of whether people are inappropriately using the legal system in order to get a payout.

00:58:38.700 And I think I want to see a little more evidence on that.

00:58:42.400 And finally, I think we have to be mindful that in this province,

00:58:46.140 we have a lot of risk rating happening because of our natural disasters.

00:58:50.460 We had slave-like fires, the southern Alberta floods.

00:58:52.720 We had hail storms, ice storms, more fires up in Fort McMurray.

00:58:57.300 and we have to to talk to the industry about whether there's a better way for us to share

00:59:02.540 the risk of those kinds of disasters as they occur because we know the federal government steps in

00:59:07.440 when those kind of disasters happen and if they're paying uh high premiums today on the basis of what

00:59:13.240 might happen in the future maybe there's a way that we can have a conversation about better

00:59:16.480 risk sharing so those are the things i'm looking at the threat and the threats about them leaving

00:59:19.620 You know what? I think I'll believe it when I see it. This is there's obviously a lucrative market here because we're one of the few markets that operate on a free enterprise system.

00:59:32.840 And so I think we want to work collaboratively to make sure that it's still a competitive market, but that that that people are being insured, which, by the way, is a mandate.

00:59:42.740 you have to have insurance if you've got a bank loan on your house and you have to have insurance

00:59:47.220 if you have if you're driving a vehicle because it's a mandated product you bet the government

00:59:52.260 has a role in making sure that those prices are reasonable thanks rick and now we have enough time

00:59:57.940 for a couple questions from the phone uh operator could you put through the first caller please

01:00:02.260 Terry Tate, Globe and Mail.

01:00:06.260 Hi, thanks for taking my question.

01:00:10.260 It's good to Kenia. Kenia, you mentioned that

01:00:14.260 you've asked Stampede for information on their

01:00:18.260 protocols. Can you give us a little bit more color on that?

01:00:22.260 When you asked for that, what department that went through

01:00:26.260 sort of the process was?

01:00:30.260 Well, I asked yesterday for my staff to look into giving me some answers on what their

01:00:39.560 protocols are.

01:00:41.620 And I would say that Young Canadians is the most important agency within their purview

01:00:47.920 that needs to answer these questions because Young Canadians is the one that had the offender

01:00:53.400 in question.

01:00:54.860 canadians were was the one who uh who allowed him to operate as he did until finally it was reported

01:01:01.500 on in 2014 and young canadians is at the front line of making sure that all adults who are

01:01:07.500 working with children are doing so in a way that is that is safe so i don't have answers yet from

01:01:13.340 from what young canadians protocols are but that's what i'm seeking that's what i'm looking for

01:01:16.620 and you had mentioned that you're not considering something like suspending funding because of this

01:01:25.580 and so i'm curious if the answers are not to your satisfaction um what you plan to do

01:01:34.380 where your jurisdiction or your authority comes from to make such inquiries

01:01:40.580 well i mean it is our responsibility to make sure that kids are safe and that these protocols

01:01:48.020 exist they exist in other organizations to make sure that that children are protected i mean we're

01:01:53.320 here today because we want to make sure that children and youths and women are protected so

01:01:58.420 we have an all-of-government approach to this this type of problem and i'm i remember like let's put

01:02:05.140 into context this was reported in 2014 and i would hope that in the nine intervening years

01:02:10.900 that they uh have developed the same kind of protocols that every other organization that

01:02:15.780 protects youths have have dealt with so i know that this story is is now out in the media because

01:02:21.220 of uh the comments of of uh mp chahal but i would say that we have to get some advice some evidence

01:02:28.180 of from young canadians that they've taken this seriously and and put those those protocols in

01:02:33.460 place so kids are safe thank you carrie and we have time for just one more question operator 0.99

01:02:39.620 could you put through the last caller please i'll more kicks us out

01:02:52.420 hi there uh my question here is for um minister ellis uh certainly with the human trafficking

01:02:58.420 this announcement today a lot of focus has been on you know things that happen at the big cities

01:03:02.420 but this is a crime that can and does happen in kind of smaller centers in rural areas that kind

01:03:08.020 of thing so with this uh announcement today of this uh office to combat human trafficking how

01:03:13.380 will this to help in uh dealing with this issue when it happens in rural areas well thanks for

01:03:19.060 the question it's a coordinated approach right that's why we have members here from our two

01:03:22.500 large cities with calgary and edmonton but we also have members of the rcmp here as well

01:03:26.660 um and it's all about that that communication right again you have to communicate in order to

01:03:31.140 have an effective operation and you know unfortunately a lot of these offenders like to

01:03:38.340 you know set up their shops whether it be drugs or trafficking or whatever the case may be

01:03:43.220 sometimes in those rural communities to kind of hide and then send those victims out into

01:03:50.260 the large municipalities in order to commit those crimes so you know it's about having the

01:03:53.940 communication between law enforcement and having the center that not in my city is going to be

01:04:00.100 operating here is going to be just a phenomenal resource for victims it's

01:04:04.540 gonna be a phenomenal resource for law enforcement to make sure we have a

01:04:07.640 coordinated approach to this and did you have a follow-up Kyle yes and kind of as

01:04:16.980 a follow-up to that certainly there are many incidents of human trafficking that

01:04:21.620 don't really go reported you think that you know having just sort of more this

01:04:25.540 This kind of resource available will help in kind of raising awareness of this issue?

01:04:31.260 Well, a simple answer to that is yes.

01:04:34.380 You know, we talked about the awareness, right?

01:04:37.180 And that's why we're here.

01:04:39.340 That's why, you know, we have the people that we have standing behind me at this moment here is to raise this awareness.

01:04:46.680 I mean, this is, if not should be, really the top story that we're talking about here right now.

01:04:53.680 We have young girls, disproportionately, our friends in the indigenous communities, boys, women, girls that are being trafficked as we speak today, that are getting involved with drugs.

01:05:11.980 You know, this is a lot of people don't know this is what the predators do, right?

01:05:14.820 They get these poor kids hooked on alcohol and drugs.

01:05:19.040 And, and you know what, this is this is why what this government is going to be doing in the future when we talk about compassionate care. And that's going to be a tool in the toolbox, that's gonna be a tool in the toolbox for families, where they might have some young person that they have a loved one that they might have that is being preyed upon by a human trafficker, and they get them hooked on these drugs, and they're going to be able to to be able to intervene through the courts to get that that child into some sort of recovery.

01:05:49.040 I mean, this is a, you know, it was said here before, it's a complex problem, but I would say this, this is what we're doing here in Alberta. This is what we do in Alberta. We lead the way and we're going to be leading the way in human trafficking. And Paul and his team should be commended for the hard work that they have done. Thank you. Yeah, that's right.

01:06:09.540 And as I said in my first comment, this will be a role model that other jurisdictions in

01:06:17.860 Canada, that other jurisdictions around the world are going to look at and say, ah, this

01:06:22.380 is it.

01:06:23.380 This is how we're going to be able to tackle this issue that we have.

01:06:26.500 Thank you very much.

01:06:27.500 Thank you, Minister.

01:06:28.500 And thank you, Kyle.

01:06:29.500 That'll conclude today's media Q&A.

01:06:30.500 Thank you, everyone, for joining us.

01:06:39.540 Thank you.

Western Standard - July 29, 2023

Partnerships to combat human trafficking

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