Officials say human trafficking is an underreported crime in N.L. — here’s what they’re doing about it

Hotels in Newfoundland and Labrador are being trained to recognize human trafficking — criminal activity that officials say despite a lack of cases, is in fact present in the province. 

Hospitality N.L. CEO Craig Foley decided to join the Not In Our Hotel initiative after discussions with other regions in Canada.

“It is a tool that hotels and owners are looking for. It gives them a resource to be able to educate their employees with,” he told CBC News in an interview this month.

The free online training modules explain how “a human trafficker takes action then uses means of coercion or force for the purpose of providing forced sex or labour.”

The modules go through different scenarios and describe the nuances of trafficking — like how in some cases, victims may not leave their traffickers.

“They don’t want to come forward… because of the relationships and because of the grooming and what they’ve been told could happen if they speak with police,” said RNC media relations officer Const. Stephanie Myers, noting there could also be financial repercussions for reporting the crime.

Foley said trafficking victims are sometimes taken to hotels because they are public places. He hopes the education encourages employees and operators to report any suspicious activity.

Data from Statistics Canada indicates 23 human trafficking incidents were reported to police in N.L. from 2014-24. Over those 10 years, 17 of the reports fell under the Criminal Code, and six under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. 

The RNC confirmed one additional incident reported in 2025 is currently under investigation, but could not provide details.

However, the province’s RCMP only laid its first charge related to human trafficking in 2022, and it was withdrawn.

In 2024, accused sexual predator Tony Humby was charged with seven counts of trafficking persons under the age of 18, which is in a different section from “trafficking in persons” in the Criminal Code.

The numbers are low because it’s an underreported crime, said RNC media relations officer Const. Stephanie Myers.

“We know that this is a misrepresentation of human trafficking within the communities that we police,” Myers said in an interview. 

Ontario advocate Krista MacNeil told CBC News in 2023 her organization had seen an increase in victims from N.L. being trafficked to her region. 

But Myers said police “can’t investigate things unless [they] know that they’re happening, unless they are reported.”

Hospitality training program aims to keep human trafficking out of N.L. hotels

Victims of human trafficking tend to be members of vulnerable populations, Myers said, and most cases reported to the RNC involve youth. 

Newcomers are also at a heightened risk, according to the Association for New Canadians. 

It’s prevalent enough that the organization has a dedicated anti-human trafficking initiative called the S.E.A. Project, led by Geraldine Ankrah.

“When it comes to newcomers, the extra layers and extra nuances make them even more vulnerable. For example, language barrier… [and] the fact that they are new and do not even know who to reach out to in case of anything,” Ankrah said in an interview from Gander.

Ankrah said the ANC helped clients along a “spectrum of exploitation” over the years.

Labour exploitation is the most common type of trafficking of newcomers, she explained. 

Ankrah said incidents can range from labour law violations like withholding wages to taking passports or other legal documents away in order to gain control of a victim. 

She said she’s seen people manipulated to think their immigration status would be at risk if they spoke out.

“ANC has engaged hundreds of newcomers, in addition to more than 900 individuals from service provider organizations, throughout the lifecycle of the project,” said Ankrah.

The ANC’s S.E.A. Project leaves posters in public places across N.L. detailing the signs of trafficking and ways of getting help in different languages.

“We especially discover it when we go out and we educate people on it,” said Ankrah.

Ankrah said the organization collaborates with service providers like social workers to remove people from potential trafficking situations, and blends education on exploitation with other services catered to newcomers. 

Back in St. John’s, Myers agrees that education is the key to preventing and dealing with human trafficking. 

“Oftentimes the victims don’t even realize that they’re part of this crime,” said Myers. “We rely on the public heavily to help us out in our investigations and to report to us when they see anything that they believe to be suspicious.”

Foley said new hospitality training has gone over well, and he expects people will feel more comfortable staying in N.L. hotels and speaking up if they need help.

“It is taking place and you know, to be responsible to our visiting guests, to be responsible to the victims, we needed to provide some tools,” said Foley. 

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