Close to Home

Ever driven through Gasoline Alley in Red Deer? Most Albertan’s have. It’s a fairly innocent-seeming stop through en route between Edmonton and Calgary, but it’s also the site of a major human trafficking charges.

Global CALGARY reported April 17, 2015 – “A Red Deer man and woman have been charged with human trafficking, in connection with the alleged abuse of eight temporary foreign workers at a central Alberta hotel. The alleged victims were employed at an Econo Lodge in Red Deer County’s Gasoline Alley.”

For the rest of the story Melissa Ramsay and Karen Bartko follow the link below:

http://globalnews.ca/news/1944890/red-deer-pair-charged-with-human-trafficking-at-central-alberta-hotel/?hootPostID=0d090941a2a06af035aeb11f931803e2 

“Human traffickers exploit the most vulnerable people in society, such as migrant workers, and they prey on despair and desperation,” says RCMP Insp. Darcy Fleury.

We (myself included) like to distance ourselves from the nasty things like “human trafficking”. We like to think these are somebody else problem far away. Even though we may not like hearing it, it is important to be reminded that this is a current problem happening close to home.

“It’s not as uncommon in Alberta as people think,” says Andrea Burkhart ACT Alberta. 

“ACT Alberta helps victims exploit exploitation. It says nearly half of its cases now involve labour abuse.”

“It also takes victims who are vulnerable and who have been exploited t takes a lot of courage for them to come forward too. And then, of course, it takes the community being able to respond to support those victims,” says Burkhart.