‘Only the tip of the iceberg’: Calls to human trafficking hotline hit record high

It's difficult to know the full scope of human trafficking, but it's a crime that's often hidden and not reported.

An organization that fights human trafficking is calling on the B.C. government to create a more targeted strategy to fight this often-hidden crime.

Newly released data shows that calls to Canada’s human trafficking hotline hit a record high in 2024.

The hotline received more than 5,000 calls from across the country, most linked to sex trafficking.

While those numbers have not gone up in B.C., trafficking in the province remains a big concern.

“Since we launched the hotline, about nine per cent of cases that we identified took place in British Columbia, but we know that’s only the tip of the iceberg, said Julia Drydyk, executive director at the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking. “And while B.C. was actually, initially, a leader in anti-human trafficking, we really haven’t seen that sustained.”

Drydyk is calling on the province to make changes.

“There’s no targeted strategy, it’s been rolled into intimate partner violence and gender-based violence. Sowe’re really calling on the government of British Columbia to develop a holistic strategy,” she said.

However, the province said it’s already taken action.

In July, RCMP and the B.C. government announced the formation of a 12-member specialized unit with a mandate to provide a co-ordinated provincial response to human trafficking.

“The investigative team has taken on five large project files, one of which is currently being assessed for charge approval by B.C. prosecutions,” said Staff Sgt. Kris Clark of the RCMP’s “E” division.

He said the team has also educated more than 1,000 police resources across B.C. in the red flags of human trafficking, as well as about 1,500 people with community-based organizations.

“As expected, we are seeing a marked increase of police officers identifying human trafficking in their files,” Clark explained.

He said in the Lower Mainland, file loads in 2024-25 have seen a 133 per cent increase, and Island District file loads have seen a 600 per cent increase.

This doesn’t reflect an increase in human trafficking events, he said, “rather it’s improved capturing of statistics, police awareness, and skill sets to investigate these files effectively while supporting victims.”

Nina Krieger, B.C.’s minister of public safety and solicitor general, was not available for an interview Thursday, but said in a statement to CTV News that, “Human trafficking is a violation of human rights and a serious concern in our province.”

“We are working in collaboration with the federal government and municipal governments, law enforcement agencies, and community organizations to prevent human trafficking and support victims in B.C.,” she said.

“This includes providing funding to community-based victim services organizations and supporting a number of prevention, intervention, and awareness initiatives to address human trafficking and build local capacity for community agencies to provide support to survivors.”