SASKATOON — Anne Ashcroft said they are fully committed to the social justice mission of the Catholic Women’s League (CWL) of Canada in bringing awareness to the dangers and horrors of human trafficking. That is why their CWL council at St. Anne’s Parish partnered with the Salvation Army this year for Human Trafficking Awareness, with plans to collaborate with other organizations, such as the Saskatoon Police Service, for a similar event set for 2026.
They held a flag-raising ceremony at Civic Centre Square on Feb. 22, to mark the annual Human Trafficking Awareness Day, proclaimed by federal, provincial and municipal governments. They then walked to the Parktown Hotel for the roundtable discussion, where speakers from various community sectors discussed ways to raise awareness and combat human trafficking.
MLAs Jamie Martens (Blairmore-Martensville) and Brittney Senger (Saskatoon Â鶹ÊÓƵeast), Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon Bishop Mark Hagemoen, Salvation Army executive director Captain Derek Kerr, and CWL Saskatoon president Marion Laroque were among the dignitaries who joined the event, along with St. Anne’s CWL council officials and members.
Ashcroft told Â鶹ÊÓƵ in a phone interview that they want to raise awareness and push their advocacy against human trafficking while also supporting victims and survivors.
“By bringing awareness to the people in the City of Saskatoon, it is a way for us to help find ways to assist human trafficking victims and survivors. If we educate the people and they become interested in learning more, we can help. It is all about letting everyone know, especially young people, that it is happening here in Saskatoon, in our backyard, in the back lanes, downtown, it's happening everywhere,” said Ashcroft.
“We [CWL] are a small organization here in Saskatoon, but we feel very strongly about advocating for this issue. This is a small part we can do, and hopefully, by sharing that with other community members, they will feel empowered to talk about it with their children, grandchildren and neighbours. As the word spreads, the more help and assistance police can have in catching human traffickers and saving victims.”
She added that they plan to collaborate further with organizations that help human trafficking survivors and victims to increase awareness, especially for next year’s event, as there is much work to be done.
“We will collaborate even more with the [Saskatoon Police Service]. They escorted us on our walk to the hotel this year, and we are thankful for that. We had some of their representatives from [SPS] Victim Services at our table discussions, which helped show the community that police are actively involved and have procedures they follow. We need to trust them and call when we see or hear inappropriate things,” said Ashcroft.
“We participate in fundraising events to raise money for organizations like Hope Restored. We envision future events that will bring speakers to help victims and survivors and explain their actions. Hope Restored houses up to eight survivors of human trafficking who are trying to get off the streets. Eight rooms – that's not enough. But we're moving in the right direction by bringing awareness, collaborating with other organizations and seeing those places open up.”
Ashcroft expressed gratitude for the Salvation Army’s assistance. She expects the SPS to join next year and hopes to continue collaborating with other organizations on future events.
“The more organizations you have spreading the word, the bigger it gets, and hopefully, it helps reduce the number of people, especially young people, who are trafficked out of our city by protecting them. We collaborated with the Salvation Army this year. The police have offered to work with us again, like with our events. We are going to be planning that for next year. We don't know what that event will look like yet, but we've got some options to consider,” said Ashcroft.
“We're a small organization that wants to have some faith-based vision with this because we pray that these young people can get out of that trafficked situation and try to have a spiritual, healthy, fulfilled life while working through whatever programs they need. There's a lot that has to happen. Collaboration is one thing. We're talking long-term solutions because nothing happens overnight.”
