Saskatoon Airport has joined the list of airports taking part in the Not In My City campaign- a program that provides training and awareness about human trafficking in Canada.

The training rolled out in Saskatoon a few months ago, teaching staff about identifying key signs of potential victims of human trafficking, who to contact if they have suspicions, and how not to worsen or aggravate the situation.

CJ Dushinski, Vice President of Business Development at the airport, says that statistics on trafficking are also included as part of the training. She says 21 per cent of trafficked victims in Canada are under the age of 18, and 50 per cent of those children are Indigenous.

Dushinski says many people aren’t aware that transportation corridors such as airports play a huge role in human trafficking. Moving forward, all new staff employed at the Saskatoon Airport will also have the opportunity to receive the preventative training.

The Saskatoon Police Service is also in partnership with the Not In My City Campaign. Detective Constable Joey Taylor in the VICE and Human Trafficking Unit says the signs may not be as obvious as one would think, and most people have interacted with a victim of human trafficking and will never know.

“People in domestic relationships that appear abusive, if they’re moving far from family and friend supports, or if they are gone for long periods of time without explanation, those are the signs that you’re most concerned about,” he noted.

Taylor says in recent years, the improved awareness of human trafficking has led to an uptick of known instances.

“We coded 15 incidents of human trafficking between 2014 and 2019. When we took a more pointed approach to address the crime, so between 2020 and 2023, we coded 40 incidents.”

He says this increase in coding isn’t technically a bad thing, as the more instances resolved the better.

In the case that someone suspects a case of human trafficking, Taylor highly encourages them to call the police, as there may be a short window of time that officers have to help the victim. They can also contact the human trafficking hotline, which connects victims to law enforcement and other resources.