Skip to content

Campaign launched to combat human trafficking in the area

“We will go in and talk to the hotel operators and bring them this information, teach them what they should look for, signs to identify someone who is being controlled or trafficked, ways to safely notify the police if this activity is going on in their establishment or to call 911 or Crimestoppers in a case of an emergency.”
carolyncouchievictimsservices
Carolyn Couchie, Executive Director of Victims Services in Nipissing District, speaks to the media about a new human trafficking initiative launched today at North Bay Police Headquarters. Photo by Chris Dawson.

The movie Taken tells the story about a young American teenage girl who falls victim to human trafficking in Europe.  

If you’ve seen the film, the movie shows the scary business of human trafficking.  

Closer to home in northern Ontario a similar story of human trafficking has become a reality and a serious crime.    

“Hollywood has to get their stories from somewhere and that’s the truthfulness of it is the way the recruitment works with the young women,” said Carolyn Couchie, Executive Director of Victims Services in Nipissing District. 

Victims Services has teamed up with the North Bay Police Service to create a media campaign with pamphlets and posters which will be distributed to cab companies and area hotels where many of the incidents take place.   

“We will go in and talk to the hotel operators and bring them this information, teach them what they should look for, signs to identify someone who is being controlled or trafficked, ways to safely notify the police if this activity is going on in their establishment or to call 911 or Crimestoppers in a case of an emergency,” stated Couchie.  

Couchie says Sudbury has been identified as a hub for recruiting young women into this crime. Many of the victims are drawn in by a boyfriend act.  

“The boyfriend aspect to this is when they meet someone who is going to promise them the world and then they are in a debt bondage to that person,” said Couchie noting the debt can be tied to drugs and alcohol.  

North Bay Police Chief Shawn Devine says the traffickers look for the innocent and take advantage of young girls who may be in some sort of trouble.  

“Often the people who are involved in human trafficking are predators and they are able to recognize weakness in people, whether that’s in distress or a high risk because they are addicted to drugs or whether they are having emotional problems, maybe issues with family, it makes them susceptible to these people, they know how to use people to their advantage,” said Devine.   

Devine and Couchie say the traffickers usually are looking for girls aged as young as 14 and 15 years of age.   Couchie says educating young teenage girls is a key as she has done presentations at NBisiing Secondary School on Nipissing First Nation. 


Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
Read more

Reader Feedback