Human trafficking awareness flag flies at Saskatoon city hall

A few dozen people gathered at Civic Square Friday to raise awareness for human trafficking. Keenan Sorokan reports.

A few dozen people gathered at Civic Square on Friday to raise awareness about human trafficking.

With the temperature at roughly -28 C, people gathered to see a Stop Human Trafficking flag raised outside city hall as they looked to shed more light on the often hidden and under-reported crime.

“People don’t realize that in a small city of Saskatoon, we are affected,” organizer Anne Ashcroft said. “The communities outside of us are affected.”

Sunday is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and was recently recognized by the provincial government and the City of Saskatoon.

Data from Public Safety Canada shows police reports of human trafficking have increased year-over-year dating back to 2014. Even with the noted rise, experts say the 608 incidents reported to police likely represent a fraction of the crime happening across the country.

Of the reported crimes between 2014 and 2024, 93 per cent were women or girls, with 63 per cent of them being under 25 years old.

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Of human trafficking cases with a guilty decision, 91 per cent involved a man as the accused, according to data from Statistics Canada.

“They’ll go to the hotels. They’ll pick young people or vulnerable people up at bus stops, at motels, restaurants, wherever,” Ashcroft said. “We just want people to understand and be aware of that.”

Following the brief speech and flag raising at Civic Square, the crowd marched to the Park Town Hotel, where a panel discussion with experts from the Saskatoon Police Service, The Salvation Army and Hope Restored Canada answered a variety of questions about how trafficking operates, who’s most vulnerable, and the steps people can take to recognize and prevent it.

“With the hotel sector, we really have educated our staff on how to recognize if this is actually happening within any of our properties,” Kecia Batting, the director of sales and marketing with the Park Town Hotel, said. “They’ve taken training on this just to prepare themselves for anything.”

Whether it be luring, grooming, or exploitation, Batting said hotels can be an enticing location for human traffickers. Front desk staff are on the lookout for the length of stay, who’s checking into the room as opposed to who is paying for the room, if minors are involved or if the man is doing all the speaking.

She said across the entire industry, awareness and training have evolved over the last decade.