Pact-Ottawa Launches French-Language Version of Anti-Human-Trafficking Campaign

PACT-Ottawa is once again calling on truck drivers to be the eyes of the road for their TruckSTOP Campaign intended to stop human trafficking. Persons Against the Crime of Trafficking in Humans (PACT) started its TruckSTOP Campaign last year, and officially launched the French-language version of the campaign at ExpoCam 2013 in Montreal.

PACT-Ottawa is a non-profit organization committed to preventing human trafficking and assisting trafficked persons. PACT-Ottawa has renewed its partnership with the Owner-Operator’s Business Association of Canada (OBAC) to get the campaign rolling.

“Truck drivers can make a valuable contribution to combating human trafficking,” says OBAC’s Executive Director Joanne Ritchie. “We’re proud to support the TruckSTOP Campaign and be part of the solution to a devastating problem.”

Persons being held and transported against their will often exhibit certain signs and behaviours. PACT-Ottawa is asking truck drivers who witness several of these signs and suspect human trafficking to call in a tip to local law enforcement or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

PACT says that human trafficking is a serious problem in Canada. Men, women and children–Canadian citizens, permanent residents, new immigrants and refugees–are bought and sold every day here in Canada and are usually forced into unpaid labour or work in the sex trade. Truck drivers are in a position to notice such activity, PACT says.

"Transportation is a key element of human trafficking. Traffickers move their victims frequently, to isolate them and to avoid detection. They travel the same roads and highways that truck drivers do," says PACT's Ian Thiesson, coordinator of the TruckSTOP Campaign. "PACT-Ottawa believes that truck drivers are in a good position to help stop human trafficking and we’re giving them the tools to join the fight."

Last year volunteers were in Toronto to introduce the campaign and hand out training materials to truck drivers at Truck World 2012. Like last year, all materials, including audio CDs, wallet cards and posters, are available free of charge and everything is now available in French or is bilingual. The audio CD includes a documentary on human trafficking called 'Watch for the Signs' as well as an audio adaptation of 'The Walk', a play about trafficked women and girls.

For more information on PACT-Ottawa or the TruckSTOP campaign, visit www.pact-ottawa.org, e-mail: truckstop@pact-ottawa.org, or call 613-875-PACT (7228).

The TruckSTOP Campaign is supported in part by Public Safety Canada.