Learn English with Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Eichenauer and Mayor Jodie Gondek at the launch of the Alberta Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons. Minister Eichenoeys, Mayor Jody Genek and Indigenous leaders from across the province join me to discuss the need to fight human trafficking and trafficking in persons.
00:28:40.320premier smith deputy ellis deputy premier ellis esteemed colleagues elder bastion
00:28:46.080task force members and special guests. Thank you for your advocacy, investment, support and
00:28:53.840dedication to combating human trafficking, one of Canada's fastest growing crimes.
00:28:58.840My name is Paul Brandt and as you've heard, Buffalo Bull Shield. I'm the former chair of
00:29:03.980the Alberta Human Trafficking Task Force and the founder of Not In My City, a non-profit which
00:29:09.100works to disrupt, prevent and end sexual exploitation and trafficking of children and
00:29:13.760youth. We're a facilitative organization working to disrupt human trafficking by raising awareness,
00:29:20.320creating a platform for collective action, mobilizing communities, promoting preventative
00:29:25.600strategies, and facilitating transformational systems change. I'd like to thank the Not In My0.97
00:29:31.680City team for their dedication, expertise, and tireless efforts on behalf of those directly
00:29:37.840impacted by human trafficking thank you for coming along on this journey with me and my wife liz this
00:29:44.800is a proud day for all of us and we celebrate this success together i'd also like to thank reach
00:29:50.800edmonton and native counseling services of alberta for their commitment and partnership
00:29:56.240like three woven strands of sweet grass we're stronger together not in my city began our work
00:30:04.320six years ago with a survivor focused approach and we're thankful for all of our community partners
00:30:09.680including law enforcement and all involved in the alberta provincial human trafficking network which
00:30:15.520not in my city founded and co-chairs who've collaborated so diligently on behalf of victims
00:30:21.760and survivors of trafficking here in alberta in this short time we've seen our community
00:30:26.720collectively step up to overcome gaps and understanding strengthen and streamline
00:30:31.840existing systems and create pathways to a more unified and universal approach to preventing,
00:30:37.520addressing and suppressing human trafficking. There's an awakening happening in Alberta.
00:30:43.840There's a transformation taking place. I'm proud to be a part of a community who today
00:30:50.160is gathering to put forward a collective commitment in the fight against modern-day slavery.
00:30:56.000Led by the testimonies of survivors of human trafficking, today we're launching a new way
00:31:00.720to address and prevent this crime in alberta and beyond and in this moment it's the voices
00:31:07.520and experiences of those most deeply impacted by trafficking who we will amplify like a mexican
00:31:14.720labor trafficking survivor who comes to mind right now his experience was shared with the alberta
00:31:21.360human trafficking task force and upon being freed from exploitation here in canada this man said to
00:31:28.080investigators and i quote last night i went to bed a slave this morning i woke up a free man
00:31:38.000i think about people like madison fraser in my role as chair of the alberta human
00:31:43.120trafficking task force together with members of that body many of whom are here today
00:31:48.080we heard from madison's mother jennifer about the terrible account
00:31:51.520of madison losing her life to trafficking here in alberta
00:31:55.760We resolved that a new way of addressing and suppressing human trafficking would be implemented in our province when we heard her story.
00:32:03.860Seeing 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.
00:32:13.980And people like April Eve, who we have heard from today, also come to mind.
00:32:20.840April Eve has become a sister to me, one who consistently reminds me that with my Indigenous
00:32:25.980name bestowed on me by Elder Bastion, that I have a responsibility and a privilege of serving
00:32:33.660Indigenous children and populations who are disproportionately impacted by trafficking
00:32:38.080in Canada. April Eve is a strong and deliberate Indigenous leader who courageously is walking her
00:32:45.000survivor's journey. She's pressed on through countless challenges, and in doing so has inspired
00:32:50.560many others from her position of strength. She doesn't find her identity in her past, but instead
00:32:56.600in her indigenous heritage, her hope for the future, and her infinite value as a unique and
00:33:02.760precious individual. She has been a warrior for this cause. And her perseverance is being
00:33:26.800rewarded today. Today's announcement comes as a direct result of the
00:33:37.360willingness of survivors of human trafficking to share their stories.
00:33:41.760April Eve, your story and the power of your voice is being heard. Thank you.
00:33:49.620Thank you for your leadership. And so we're gathered here today on the
00:33:55.260rooftop of Calgary's downtown Marriott Hotel to launch a new era in the fight against human
00:34:00.860trafficking for Albertans. The setting is appropriate as it displays the DNA of the0.99
00:34:05.980Alberta office to combat trafficking in persons. An initiative which will combine the unique
00:34:11.260capabilities of government, private industry, frontline service providers, and the community
00:34:16.520in a new way which Canada has never seen. This made in Alberta approach will be working
00:34:24.120alongside industry and government and community leaders. We're excited to be working alongside
00:34:30.560the Marriott today as Marriott Hotels has long been a hospitality industry leader in the fight
00:34:36.700against human trafficking. Their commitment and investment is the type of focus and dedication
00:34:41.440needed from all stakeholders to truly transform the lives of those being exploited and to prevent
00:34:47.120trafficking from happening in the first place. We commend this government's resolve and investment
00:34:52.900toward this innovative approach to combat human trafficking.
00:47:20.840so mr brent you've been involved for some time with uh fighting human trafficking with
00:47:25.640all your advocacy how has this advocacy changed your life i i would say that the way that human
00:47:33.160trafficking has changed my life began with the first exposure to trafficking
00:47:36.520my wife and i had seen a documentary that was called children for sale that spotlighted the
00:47:44.800issue of human trafficking and it wasn't on our radar at that time not long after we had the
00:47:49.240opportunity to travel overseas and we saw trafficking activity the trafficking of children
00:47:53.760happened firsthand it was a very traumatic experience as you can imagine for those children
00:47:59.060who are being exploited some six to eight times a day by adult men it was also traumatic for my
00:48:05.300wife and for myself, seeing that victimization with seemingly no interaction in any way that
00:48:15.880was intervening on their behalf. And so it became a part of our lives, and we continued to lean in.
00:48:21.560So I would say that our intersection with human trafficking changed our lives
00:48:26.340in a way where I think as a father, I asked myself the question, how will I teach my son
00:48:33.040to be a respectful young man in relation to the way that he addresses and interacts with women.
00:48:39.760But the main thing for me was when I thought about my daughter. I wanted to give her a really good
00:48:45.440answer when she was old enough to ask the question, Daddy, when you saw trafficking, what did you do
00:48:51.200about it? We all have, I would say, different capacities to affect change in relation to the
00:48:58.880issue of human trafficking but once we know about it we all have the same
00:49:03.060responsibility and so it's taken me on a journey that I never would have expected
00:49:07.280very unusual journey I would say for a country singer but it's definitely a
00:49:11.660personal journey that has made a deep impact in my life and I'm honored to be
00:49:15.980working on behalf of tracking victims and survivors so Premier Smith
00:49:27.920The 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?
00:49:38.140I'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.
00:49:58.720So I will leave it to them to do their work and make some recommendations to us.
00:50:03.640Thanks, Jonathan. And we'll go to our next question at the mic.
00:50:09.100Hi, Kami Kepke, Global News. My question is for Premier Smith.
00:50:12.940You mentioned that the province has reached out to Stampede to talk to them about what has been
00:50:17.980done there. Could you give us a little clarification on the funding Stampede receives from the province
00:50:23.180and whether the province will be looking at whether it continues to provide any funding?
00:50:27.340We'll continue to supporting the Stampede, yes. It's the premier festival in Alberta. We just had
00:50:34.940and very glorious and exciting and successful 10 days the the issue about exploiting children and
00:50:40.460making sure children are safe is an issue young canadians has to answer and i can tell you what
00:50:45.980i hear from other youth groups they have in place protocols to make sure that there is a criminal
00:50:52.140record check for anyone who is involved in a direct contact with children they have annual
00:50:58.700training for adults on how the proper way to interact with children and they also have
00:51:03.980protocols to make sure that no child is ever alone in a room with an adult and so those
00:51:08.860would be the kind of things i would be asking young canadians to let us know so that they can
00:51:13.100address the issue remember this was reported in 2014 so the the perpetrator has been has been
00:51:19.980held to held to justice but to make sure that there aren't any ongoing problems i would fully
00:51:25.020expect that those would be the kind of protocols that are that are in place there and the other
00:51:29.260one for me uh a doctor's clinic in marta loop has been going to paid services four days a week i'm
00:51:35.020curious about your thoughts on this and the precedent it sets well it won't set a precedent
00:51:39.740because we won't let it happen there is uh i signed a protocol with the federal government
00:51:44.700for 10 years committing to the principles of the canada health act that means that you cannot
00:51:48.380charge to access insured services if that's what they are doing they will be shut down they will
00:51:54.060be fined or they will not we will withhold payments to them so it won't be allowed to happen thanks
00:52:10.780what's your message to albertans as the ro reaches record highs being that one of your
00:52:16.140campaign promises was to protect them from sky height utility rates my message is this is what
00:52:21.500happens when ideology runs a power grid what we're dealing with today are a leftover and a hangover
00:52:28.380from poor decisions by the ndp they phased out coal too early coal was a a long-term uh sustainable
00:52:35.820way to provide low power they said they phased it out early costing billions of dollars we are
00:52:40.940still going to be paying hundreds of millions of dollars until 2030 for the stranded assets
00:52:46.620because of that investment at the same time they for some reason felt that they could bring on an
00:52:52.380equivalent amount of wind and solar and get the same amount of power as coal and you cannot do
00:52:56.460that wind and solar are intermittent and so we have had to build additional redundancy that costs
00:53:03.420money in addition coal and natural gas plants are 800 megawatts the typical wind and solar
00:53:09.740is 20 or 50 megawatts which requires massively more transmission and distribution to be built
00:53:15.980and as a result because of intermittency redundancy early phase out of coal we are now at a point four
00:53:22.380years later where people are paying up to 32 cents per kilowatt hour for power we are not going to
00:53:27.340allow this to continue to happen that's why we oppose the federal government's plan to get to
00:53:32.940a net zero power grid by 2035. the most recent report that was put out said that would cost 1.7
00:53:40.060trillion dollars i haven't even seen an estimate of how much that would increase our power bills
00:53:45.580but i'm told it could be up to five times higher so if anybody is wondering why we are battling
00:53:51.020so hard with the federal government to make sure that we have a reasonable period of time
00:53:55.260to phase in lower emission source of power this is why it's because ideology from the ndp and
00:54:01.340their federal counterparts in the liberal party have created the problem that we have today and
00:54:05.020and we're going to fix it it's my only question thank you thanks rick bell calgary sun
00:54:14.540you're not that tall but a little taller do you want to talk to me here do you want to
00:54:17.740yes of course you may as well stay up there well you're talking about bills so i am talking about
00:54:22.780people's bills except this is something you have control over insurance auto insurance
00:54:28.780the provinces the provinces automobile insurance rate board has a consumer report out now which
00:54:34.700shows recently released shows that albertans are increasingly upset about the continued increases
00:54:42.460in premiums even to people who have clean records and in fact very few albertans agree with the
00:54:51.820statement that premiums are fair and reasonable just so you know the number is four percent
00:54:56.860i've been reading your columns yeah so they're aware therefore you know and i and you know i
00:55:01.260talked about this with you at christmas and you were very uh much committed to a change so could
00:55:07.020you tell me what do you think and relate when you hear from albertans through this report about
00:55:15.660their continued you know disdain for what's happening in the insurance business there's no
00:55:21.180question that the insurance premiums in alberta are a problem we used to be able to have the lowest
00:55:27.580rates in the country and it's not the case now so we had a pause on the year-over-year increases
00:55:33.660we're not allowing insurance companies to increase insurance premiums until we've had a chance to do
00:55:38.220a review we had an interruption on that with the um with the election and with the new finance
00:55:43.340minister but uh as recently as last week i said it's time to get going let's figure out what some
00:55:48.780of the recommendations will be for how we can bring rates down we put it to the insurers tell
00:55:53.180us what you think you can do to assess to assist us in bringing these rates down for not only auto
00:55:59.100but also for property and so that process is underway um i i haven't received a briefing yet
00:56:05.340from um minister of the minister of finance about some of the recommendations he has coming forward
00:56:09.980but i did just put in a call to his office next week and said let's let's accelerate this we've
00:56:13.980got we've got to get some answers for people and my supplementary mr speaker is uh
00:56:23.100what will that look like in other words your mandate letter that the mandate letter you sent
00:56:27.500to the minister says you want to make it auto well insurance more affordable what is your definition
00:56:34.700of what a more affordable that means does that mean because i know one of the insurance companies
00:56:39.500the insurance companies basically say well we'll keep the rates low but we'll give you less
00:56:44.380coverage well yeah right but so what is your thought about what that will look like by the
00:56:49.760end of the year because obviously you're going to make a decision i can tell you a couple things
00:56:53.640and what do you think of insurance companies who threaten albert saying we might pull out if you're
00:57:00.580not nice to us you've read both of those i did i did read both of those and you put into context
00:57:06.200how few uh people are covered by the one that that threatened to pull out look here's here's
00:57:11.800what people expect people expect that if they have a clean driving record no accidents and
00:57:20.200no speeding tickets that the rates are going to keep going down that's what people expect
00:57:24.360that's how insurance is supposed to work and that's not what's happened and one of the issues
00:57:29.000was that we now we've done the reversal of who pays the cost when and when an accident happens
00:57:35.160So if you out drive a very expensive car and somebody rear ends you, then you pay for the repair of your own vehicle.
00:57:42.280That'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,
00:57:50.060they were seeing their rates go up just because of the value of the vehicle they drove.
00:57:53.140Most people think, you know what, the guy who hits me should be the guy who pays.
00:57:56.480So I think we have to revisit that policy.
00:57:58.980I think we also need to talk to auto manufacturers.
00:58:03.100it used to be that fender benders which are the most common type of accident were cheap to repair
00:58:08.560now they've got all the cameras and all this hidden damage in it and i know because i got
00:58:15.000i got rear-ended too and it was a ten thousand dollar repair bill so we've got to be talking
00:58:19.640to the uh auto industry about whether or not there's a better way for them to to be building
00:58:24.120all those extra features in and then we also of course the insurance industry um raises the issue
00:58:30.860of whether people are inappropriately using the legal system in order to get a payout.
00:58:38.700And I think I want to see a little more evidence on that.
00:58:42.400And finally, I think we have to be mindful that in this province,
00:58:46.140we have a lot of risk rating happening because of our natural disasters.
00:58:50.460We had slave-like fires, the southern Alberta floods.
00:58:52.720We had hail storms, ice storms, more fires up in Fort McMurray.
00:58:57.300and we have to to talk to the industry about whether there's a better way for us to share
00:59:02.540the risk of those kinds of disasters as they occur because we know the federal government steps in
00:59:07.440when those kind of disasters happen and if they're paying uh high premiums today on the basis of what
00:59:13.240might happen in the future maybe there's a way that we can have a conversation about better
00:59:16.480risk sharing so those are the things i'm looking at the threat and the threats about them leaving
00:59:19.620You 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.
00:59:32.840And 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.
00:59:42.740you have to have insurance if you've got a bank loan on your house and you have to have insurance
00:59:47.220if you have if you're driving a vehicle because it's a mandated product you bet the government
00:59:52.260has a role in making sure that those prices are reasonable thanks rick and now we have enough time
00:59:57.940for a couple questions from the phone uh operator could you put through the first caller please
01:04:39.340That's why, you know, we have the people that we have standing behind me at this moment here is to raise this awareness.
01:04:46.680I mean, this is, if not should be, really the top story that we're talking about here right now.
01:04:53.680We 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.
01:05:11.980You know, this is a lot of people don't know this is what the predators do, right?
01:05:14.820They get these poor kids hooked on alcohol and drugs.
01:05:19.040And, 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.
01:05:49.040I 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.
01:06:09.540And as I said in my first comment, this will be a role model that other jurisdictions in
01:06:17.860Canada, that other jurisdictions around the world are going to look at and say, ah, this