Status of Women committee  I was very shocked that it was the same type of conference with the same big corporations discussing the same things that we all know about. I would like to have seen some more workshops or working groups to actually come up with solutions. I'm a big believer, and I would rather sit there and listen to a survivor than to somebody from a large corporation who is only there to better themselves.

Status of Women committee  I think some of that training will, but you have to understand that we don't have a lot of room to carry a safe bag, and if I am a driver who crosses borders, some things are restricted on the U.S. side, so we have to really look at everything. I think more education and awareness are what's needed in the trucking industry to help improve things.

Status of Women committee  I can tell you that Timea Nagy is the one who designed our online training course for professional drivers. One of the main things she stresses is that if they see somebody in imminent danger, they're to call 911, and after that, it's The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking.

Status of Women committee  We are working with a lot of different agencies. Unfortunately, I don't do a lot of stuff with Kelly. We've had a couple of conversations, but we don't always seem to hook up at the right time. I think we all have been targeting ONroute centres in terms of doing more in the human trafficking sphere, but in one conversation we had, we were told, “Oh, we can't put anything up in here about that; it will scare our customers away.”

Status of Women committee  Everything boils down to funding. That's what I'd like to say. I talk to a lot of different organizations, whether they're in the trucking industry or are the human trafficking groups, and I'm constantly hearing the same thing: that the funding is never enough. Either they run out of funding or it seems that the same organizations are constantly getting funding while the other ones, those that have so much knowledge and experience, are totally getting left out in the cold.

Status of Women committee  Yes, I really think that needs to be done. I think it needs to be broken up a little. I can tell you that we fund everything we do in the human trafficking sphere ourselves. The very first trailer that was wrapped and put on the road I paid for out of my own pocket, because I believed that the trailer would make a difference.

Status of Women committee  We are seeing an uptick in the actual truck stops themselves. When we talk with different victim service agencies as well as local police, they are telling us that the increase in human trafficking in the London area is quite high. We reached out to one of our corporate members.

Status of Women committee  That's a little out of my scope of expertise, but on a personal level, I am not opposed to that idea.

Status of Women committee  It's more common than we like. I can tell you as a driver that I have seen it. I have had them knock on my door. When it first started to occur to me, early on in my truck driving career, I was just thinking to myself, “Oh, Lord, not again. Stop knocking on my truck. I need to sleep.

Status of Women committee  We could start off with making sure that they have housing, that they have someplace to go and that the proper supports are in place for them. I think we need to help them slowly get back into society. Most of them need counselling based on their culture and their beliefs. That's important.

Status of Women committee  You know, it might, but I think in reality they'll just find different ways to do it. If we look at the lifespan of criminals, whether they're drug dealers or the Mafia, they've found various ways to legalize their businesses. I think we need to do a lot more than we're currently doing.

Status of Women committee  No, they're not.

Status of Women committee  Yes, it would. I think it's very important that drivers learn.

Status of Women committee  Yes, I do. I think it would be really important. If at some point we could create a mobile app that's easily accessible by truck drivers as well as victim service agencies, etc., I think it would make things a lot easier.

Status of Women committee  Yes, I do. Basically, right now the traffickers do not get enough jail time or any kind of monumental penalty. If we look at how we have done that in other areas, by seizing assets and returning that money, we see that it's a great way to go. It's something the government should have done a long time ago.