Singer/songwriter Paul Brandt was in Saskatoon Monday, not for a concert or to promote his music, but to promote an event coming up in Saskatoon to help combat human trafficking.  Brandt is the founder and CEO of #NotInMyCity, which raises awareness, educates about what to look for and helps to take action to prevent and end human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

He says one of the ways they help with taking action is through their annual Maddison Sessions, which are for police from across the country and for Crown prosecutors to come together to share their resources to combat human trafficking. Saskatoon’s event next spring will be the third annual. The provincial government is contributing $100,000 for the human trafficking summit. Brandt says, “This funding enables us to continue to shift the balance of power away from traffickers and back to empowering our communities for prevention, rapid exit and rehabilitation.” He adds that the annual Maddison Sessions strengthen Saskatchewan’s and Canada’s responses to preventing and addressing this crime, which leaves lifelong consequences for victims and their families. The Maddison Sessions are named after Maddison Fraser, who lost her life as a victim of human trafficking in Alberta.

Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada. The ‘Not In My City’ website states that human trafficking generates billions of dollars annually around the world, second only to illegal arms trafficking and the drug trade. “Sex trafficking is a high-profit, low-risk business for the exploiter who sells human bodies as a commodity repeatedly, unlike drugs or weapons, where the product can only be sold once.” If you want to learn more about the issue, click on this link. You can also search #NotInMyCity on social media.