www.joshuacreekfurniture.com Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10-6 Thursday & Friday 10-8 Saturday 10-6 Sunday Closed 1029 speers rd., oakville (speers & 4th line) 905.842.3739 OCCASIONAL SOFA ONLY YOUR CHOICE OF FABRIC & STYLE $799 SOFA, LOVESEAT, CHAIR $1798 SUMMER SALE www.hsc.on.ca | 905-389-1367 | 299 Fennell Ave. West, Hamilton J U N I O R K I N D E R G A R T E N A N D M O N T E S S O R I T O G R A D E 1 2 LIMITED SPACE is available for September 2011. Dont miss out! nment. To book a tour, please contact our Admissions Department at admissions@hsc.on.ca or 905-389-1367 ext. 160. IMPRESSIONS 7 Frid ay, A u g u st 5, 2011 O A K V ILLE B E A V E R w w w .in sid eH A LTO N .co m It's time to talk about it trafficking and improve police capacity to investigate and charge criminals involved in human trafficking, which creates victims through forced labour and prostitution. Police services in Niagara, Peel, Windsor, Hamilton and York Region received similar grants, as did the Ontario Provincial Police in partnership with Anishinabek, Nishnawbe- Aski and Treaty Three Police Services. Human trafficking is one of the most outrageous and appalling crimes that we face in Ontario, in Canada and around the world, said Jim Bradley, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. The McGuinty government is commit- ted to doing everything we can to lock up offenders, and to rescue, protect and sup- port victims. Despite being named the safest place to live in the GTA and the safest regional municipality in Canada, by Macleans maga- zine in November of 2010, Halton has not gone untouched by the specter of human trafficking, police said. Human trafficking is on the increase within the GTA and throughout the prov- ince, said Deputy Chief Bob Percy of Halton police. Halton is not immune to this influence and we have investigated a number of human trafficking cases over the last few years. As a community, we need to look towards any opportunity to reduce or pre- vent victimization. The funds provided through the Proceeds of Crime Front Line Policing grant allow us to maximize our educational focus, create greater awareness about human trafficking and focus on pro- viding information and supporting material to those who may be in a vulnerable posi- tion. Halton Police Public Affairs Officer Sgt. Dave Cross said the funding would not allow for additional staffing, but rather will be utilized by staff already in place within the Halton Police Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Bureau. The grant is also intended to help fund special investigations targeting the sex trade, increased surveillance of suspected human trafficking activities and officer training. Oakville human trafficking abolitionist and Chatelaines Canadas Women of the Year nominee, Shae Invidiata, welcomed news about the funding. Invidiata is the founder of the Free-Them organization, which works to abolish human trafficking in Canada and abroad through various campaigns. Regardless of the issue most agencies will tell you that its never enough, but its a step in the right direction and the fact that our government has reviewed the request and started to see the real necessity for allo- cating those type of funds to us makes this just a great day for Halton, said Invidiata. Im very excited that funding structure is going to be coming through and already I have been in contact with some depart- ments at the Halton Regional Police to dis- cuss how those funds could be used to do campaigns throughout Halton. Invidiata said she hopes to partner with Halton police in forming awareness cam- paigns that would target local schools. She has previously stated young girls between the ages of 12 and 14 are the tar- gets of human traffickers. She has also called human trafficking the fastest growing crime on the planet today and said it is time to start talking about it. Continued from page 1 l l h f bHa ton Po ice Deputy C ie Bo Percy