Foundation against human trafficking looking to open learning campus near Niverville

The Joy Smith Foundation is looking to set up a learning campus near Niverville to help survivors of human trafficking, the first of its kind in Canada.

The center is expected to open in the next three to four years and founder Joy Smith presented her vision last Wednesday to the RM of Hanover council.

“We had three other places that wanted us to have this facility, and why we wanted it here – we prayed about it – and why we wanted it here is because the community cares about the people who are suffering. And these are moms who are suffering. And so we want to help them restore their lives. It’s very simple,” she said.

The campus was the brainchild of Smith’s daughter, Janet Campbell, who along with her mother, saw a gap in the services that were provided to survivors of human trafficking. After much reflection, Smith said she wanted a location that was rural rather than urban, that was away from predators, and a site that brings a level of hope to survivors. The campus will only be available to residents of Manitoba.

The campus will serve as a central hub for the foundation’s programs, including survivors’ support services, prevention and education programs where they are learning to overcome complex trauma, research, and advocacy. The campus will educate police officers, parliamentarians, judges, Canada Border Services Agency officers, and NGOs about human trafficking.

There will also be a 40-bed residential component, a daycare, a garden, and a clinic on campus. Female victims of sex trafficking and their children can stay for two years while the survivors learn to reintegrate into society, some of them will also go to school. The campus will have two programs for these survivors: the admission program and the empowerment program.

“If you talk to some of the trafficked victims that we have worked with, you wouldn’t know who they are once they have finished our program. Because one of our trafficked victims is just finishing her master’s degree and she wants to go out and she wants to help others. We have others who want in too.”

Since 2012, the foundation has been educating and advocating for the elimination of human trafficking in Canada. Smith, a former teacher and Manitoba MP, became involved with the issue of human trafficking as a junior high teacher when she found out one of her students was being sex trafficked in Winnipeg. She then worked to change things by becoming an MP in 2004, where she passed two bills against human trafficking.

Up until Smith brought her bills to parliament, Canada had no human trafficking laws. In 2010, Bill C-268 amended the Criminal Code to include a minimum sentence of five years for trafficking people under the age of 18 years old. In 2012, Bill C-310 amended the Criminal Code to add the offence of trafficking people outside of Canada for which Canadian citizens or permanent residents may be prosecuted for in Canada.

Smith said victims are trafficked by people they know and that social media and apps are used by predators to lure young people into a level of trust before exploiting them. She noted traffickers make $250,000 annually from trafficking someone. To date, the foundation has helped 8,000 people.

The $36 million learning campus is being privately funded by wealthy donors. Smith did not apply for government funding as she wanted to have the freedom to run the programs and the campus without government influence.

She said in February one of the foundation’s administrative offices will open on Main Street in Niverville and while it won’t be a part of the campus, it will serve the area.

While Hanover council has given second reading in changing a zoning bylaw by adding institutional campus as a permitted use in an agricultural zone (the passage of which will approve the campus), the matter has to go before the municipal board for review as there were objections from the departments of agriculture, transportation and infrastructure, and community planning.

According to Smith, she has the full support of the premier and is getting letters of support from ministers. One of those ministers she claims is supporting her is Minister of Agriculture Ron Kostyshyn, whom she met in his home riding of Dauphin during the summer. Kostyshyn told The Carillon that the ministers are going through discussions with their departments and each other.

“Unfortunately, in the scale of this kind of operation it’s a number of departments that will be involved. I think the reality is that we need to work together to design an opportunity that government will be there on a number of fronts, but it’s not only agriculture it’s a number of other departments as well,” he said.

Should the ministers provide their support, it could lead to the cancellation of a review by the municipal board should the provincial departments recall their objections. Should the matter pass the municipal board hearing, Hanover council can give third and final reading.

During Smith’s presentation to council, there was also an objection from resident Rachel Richards who lives next to the property. Her concerns centered around traffic, safety, security, and the impact the facility will have on her storage business.

Smith said traffickers and organized crime will not be coming to the property, that the campus will have security, and all the residents on campus are drug-free as a pre-requisite to living there and accessing the programs. She also said the campus will create a number of jobs in Niverville.

Hanover Reeve Jim Funk and Niverville Mayor Myron Dyck both value the work the foundation is doing and both councils are on board with the campus. Niverville had some concerns in regards to infrastructure and traffic, but Dyck believes those issues will be resolved by Smith. As a condition of the build, Niverville wants the RM to enter into a development agreement with the foundation. The RM will consider this after the municipal board hearing.

“Obviously, the people who are coming to this facility have been trafficked and sometimes the people who are involved in trafficking are less than honourable, but like I said we welcome them here, we share their vision, we appreciate the work that they’re doing, and we look forward to seeing this built and a place where people can get help and be restored and I think that’s great,” said Dyck.

Funk said he was surprised to hear from Smith that human trafficking is going on in the Southeast. He said it’s something you hear about but it’s not something you think is actually happening your community.

“I think it’s great that she is wanting to do something like this. She wants to rehabilitate mothers, in some cases of the sex trade. I think it’s huge that we give the opportunity for these people to partake in life and to come back to civilization, to how life should be. Hats off to them for doing something like this.”

Smith said interest in her campus has been shown by Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the foundation plans on opening a campus in Ontario after they open in Manitoba. The Manitoba campus will serve as a blueprint for future builds. Smith said she would like to eventually open campuses across the country.