Campaign aims to stop labour trafficking by speaking directly to migrant workers

The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking has launched a campaign that targets migrant workers themselves. It’s designed to inform them of their rights and help prevent them from becoming victims of labour trafficking.

The campaign follows a labour trafficking bust in southwestern Ontario last week, in which 31 people were arrested and two London, Ont. men were charged.

“The recent busts that we’ve been seeing lately in Ontario are really just the tip of the iceberg,” said Julia Drydyk, executive director of the Centre.

Described as a first-of-its-kind campaign, it has taken out ads on social media and other public advertising, including posters and information cards placed around key gathering spots.

The materials are in Spanish, English, and French, with the campaign being highlighted in communities that host large migrant worker populations, according to Drydyk.

“And we really wanted to equip them with information about their rights, but also the red-flag indicators of labour trafficking. We’re targeting those hot-spots where we know migrant workers are going, either their grocery shopping or kind of their weekly errands. But we’re also doing targeted social media ads,” said Drydyk.

According to the Centre, labour trafficking can occur in almost any industry. Agriculture employs the most migrant workers, with general farm workers making up 56 per cent of the workforce.

Father Enrique Martinez of the Long Point Bay Anglican Church runs the Huron Farmworkers Ministry. He travelled to London Friday to pick up supplies and donations for the 2,000 migrant workers per month his ministry supports.

According to the Ministry, most Canadians aren’t aware of the contributions migrant workers make to the Canadian economy.

Martinez said migrant workers are essential to our food security, but they themselves have little security.

“People expect to be here safe and happy like the big stories that we hear there,” he explained. “And we come here and the reality is abuse or human trafficking, we don’t expect that.”

The Centre has also established a labour trafficking hotline.

“Oftentimes, victims of labour trafficking may be unaware of their rights or may have been intentionally misinformed so that they don’t seek help,” said Drydyk. “If you feel something isn’t right, speak up and encourage those at risk to call the Hotline at 1-833-900-1010.”