Raising awareness about what constitutes human trafficking and signs that could save someone from being exploited is important work in Thunder Bay, Ont. — which federal data suggests is an especially problematic hub for trafficking in Canada.
“It’s happening here in Thunder Bay. A lot of people don’t think it is, but it is,” Cindy Paypompee, co-chair of the Thunder Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, said Friday.
Paypompee was interviewed by CBC News ahead of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day on Sunday. The coalition — formed in 2018, and consisting of law enforcement, health, education and social service providers — held an awareness event at the Intercity Shopping Centre on Friday.
According to Statistics Canada, over 5,000 human trafficking incidents overall were reported to police between 2014 and 2024. Thunder Bay, with a population of about 118,000, saw the highest average annual rates in the country during that decade.
Thunder Bay’s average annual rate was 8.0 per 100,000 population, compared to the national average of 1.5 per 100,000 population, according to the data agency’s latest report, released in December.
I am from Thunder Bay and have lived here my whole life. These are not new stories, and the highest 10 year average in Canada in this case is not a surprise. TBay is a bottleneck between eastern and western Canada. It is a hub for dozens of Northern Ontario remote First Nations communities. In all of the small communities outside of TBay, there are billboards on the highway that are directed specifically at reminding people that “Human Trafficking is a Crime”. I don’t intend to be directly confrontational, but the comment:
is incredibly ignorant. Located on the north shore of Lake Superior, TBay is visited by dozens of Great Lake and International cargo ships daily during the shipping season; it isn’t an issue of the public not recognizing that trafficking is taking place, it is a crime of opportunity. TBay is also regularly considered to be the ‘murder capital of Canada’. We have some of the highest drug overdose rates in the country as well. Some people might be oppositional to my point of view here, but the problem is systemic racism.
The only access to most of the remote First Nations in Northwestern Ontario is through TBay. Drug trafficking as well as human trafficking up North can only happen through the city. A lot of these remote communities are also struggling with increasing populations and limited access to resources. Several of these communities are under boil water advisories due to lack of resources and infrastructure, some of which have been so for over 15 years. This issue is incredibly complex, but realistically it comes down to the fact that anti-Indigenous racism is rampant and very well off still within our country, despite Harper’s apology and all of the ‘Truth and Reconciliation’ that has been happening lately.
Some media resources, in case anyone is interested in looking further into the issue: Brief Podcast series on the topic Award winning narrative outlining the overt racism in TBay
For clarification I’m a relatively new citizen in Canada and I’m not white, so apologies if i seemed ignorant. But I do know that racism against natives is still alive and maintained, but it seems TB is unique the way you explained it which I didn’t know much of. Now i know more. It is very disappointing and enraging that these things are still allowed to happen. Hardly any justice in the world.
I genuinely appreciate your concern. I’m really glad that you are here in Canada, as open minded people make our world a better place.
Engaging with racism is always helpful, in any context. Here in TBay there used to be a city committee directly committed to addressing racism in the city. They had a campaign headlined: “If you witness racism, say something”, with a link to report observations. The headline was on billboards, city buses and everything around the city.
I suppose enough local tax payers complained about inefficient use of tax dollars and that committee has since been retired. But the international headlines about TBay continue.