so sad......just think of the stuff we could heal in our society if the money wasn't going for war?

Child-sex trade flourishing in Winnipeg, says expert
Updated Sun. Jul. 12 2009 10:09 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

An activist against human trafficking has given Winnipeg a dubious distinction: He says it's the worst Canadian city for child sex crimes.

Benjamin Perrin, a law professor at the University of British Columbia, has said that as many as 400 teens -- mostly aboriginal girls -- are being sold for sex in the Manitoba capital.

"There were girls as young as 12, 13 years old openly on sale for sex, waiting for men to come by and pick them up," Perrin told CTV News.

And it's not only happening on the streets -- human trafficking has gone online.

The UBC professor has found more than 300 advertisements for Winnipeg girls and women on Craigslist, despite a disclaimer outlawing human trafficking.

Perrin said that children are essentially being bought and sold on the website.

"This is a free, efficient and profitable way to offer these victims for sale, and so it needs to be investigated," he said.

Last week, Perrin spoke about the issue during a two-day forum on preventing human trafficking, put on by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

Aboriginal leaders have recognized the problem with online classified ads.

"Many of our women and children are being victimized by it," said Grand Chief Ron Evans from the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. "It's a problem that needs to be dealt with."

Aboriginal women and girls are at a particular risk of being exploited, due to poverty. According to the "Stop Sex With Kids" website, between 70 and 80 per cent of children and youth exploited in Manitoba are of Aboriginal decent.

However, finding and prosecuting the traffickers has been a difficult battle, as young girls tend to be threatened and are afraid to come forward to the police, making it difficult for police to gather information.

Between March 2006 and February 2007, five people were convicted of the crime, according to the UN report on trafficking persons. In the past year, 13 charges have been laid involving cases of alleged trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Back in 2007, Jacques Leonard-St. Vil of Longueuil, Que., was the first person in Canada to be charged with human trafficking. He admitted to trafficking a woman in Mississauga, Ont. He was sentences to 36 months in prison.