Cochrane's own country music superstar Paul Brandt calls a recent move from the Alberta Government incredibly important in the fight against human trafficking. 

The province is partnering with three different community organizations and investing $4 million to create the Alberta Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons.

Brandt, president and founder of #NotInMyCity, and former chair of the Alberta Human Trafficking Task Force said he and his team have been working at this for quite some time. 

"When we started in the sector about six years ago, in talking to even top law enforcement, there were some that would say to us that they didn't believe that human trafficking was happening in Alberta. Over the pandemic for about 20 months, I chaired the Alberta Human Trafficking Task Force and we turned in 19 recommendations to the government on how to better address and suppress human trafficking in the province." 

More than 3,500 incidents of human trafficking were reported in Canada between 2011 and 2021, but according to the province, many incidents are never reported at all. 

"My wife and I were first exposed to the issue of trafficking a little over 18 years ago, and we saw trafficking activity happening in a developing country on the other side of the world. We came back to Canada only to realize that this is one of the fastest growing crimes in our country right now." 

There are three main categories of human trafficking; sex trafficking, labour trafficking and the trafficking of organs.

The partnership for the Operation of the Alberta Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons will be by #NotInMyCity, Native Counselling Services of Alberta (NCSA) and REACH Edmonton Council for Safer Communities.

“This milestone wouldn’t be possible without the countless organizations and individuals who shared their experiences and expertise in our journey with Alberta’s Human Trafficking Task Force. Combating human trafficking requires collective action, and we applaud the province for taking a collaborative approach with the community.” said Brandt. 

#NotInMyCity is a non-profit organization working to prevent, disrupt and end human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Since 2016, the organization has been building community alliances to spur collective action, always learning from and elevating the voices of victims and survivors. The organization is an important education and awareness resource for affected sectors and all Albertans, stated a news release from the Alberta Government. 

Sunday, July 30 was World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.