The West Kootenay Regional Airport has joined an initiative co-founded by a country music star to fight human trafficking.
Paul Brandt appeared before Castlegar city council Monday via Zoom to tell them about the #NotInMyCity organization, created in 2017 to raise awareness of human trafficking and stop it. It has been partnering with airports across the country.
“We know traffickers move victims through Canada on predictable routes,” Brandt said. “One of the main ways they transport victims is by airline and through airports. So when we can empower airport partners to be the eyes and ears, where we have security in place, we can prevent trafficking and intervene.”
His organization provides resources and training to airport staff to help identify potential victims. He likened it to how since the 2001 U.S. terrorist attacks, travellers have been told to report any stray luggage sitting in an airport.
“We didn’t walk around being terrified of stray pieces of luggage. We just knew what to do when we saw it. That’s what we want to empower our allies and partners with: the knowledge of knowing what to do when you see human trafficking.”
He added that the Calgary airport recently launched a saferoom program, which can be used for different purposes, including to help human trafficking victims. While he initially thought it might just be a gesture, he said it was used so much in the first month that a second room is being built. A similar room was recently added at the airport in Edmonton.
At the Castlegar airport, all frontline staff have taken the training provided by Brandt’s organization, and related materials have been posted on the walls and on a display screen, council was told.
Brandt said human trafficking is “a crime that is alive and well in our communities.”
RCMP Sgt. Monty Taylor agreed. “It’s a crime that is happening in every community,” he said. “I’m aware of incidents that have happened in Castlegar.”
Taylor said human trafficking is underreported, and a crime where the public and partner agencies can play a critical role: “It can hopefully make a difference in a victim’s life and also hold people accountable when we can.”
Council discussed taking the training Brandt’s organization is offering themselves and looking into making it available to local businesses as well.
“It’s really important,” mayor Maria McFaddin said. “Glad we’re a part of it.”
