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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, S ep te m be r 10 ,2 02 0 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca insidehalton@metroland.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeav @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Director of Production Mark Dills Regional Production Manager Manny Garcia Directors of Advertising Cindi Campbell and Ryan Maraj CONTACT US Oakville Beaver 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-845-3824 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Advertising: 289-293-0620 Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. Letters to the editor Send letters to insidehalton@metroland.com. All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at insidehalton.com OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM Human traffickers prey upon the most vulnerable people in our community. Most of their victims are young women and girls -- and the average age of a victim when 'recruited' is only 13 years old. It is a growing problem, so our government is in- vesting more to combat it. Our government is sup- porting survivors of traf- ficking, educating young people to keep themselves safe and providing funding to law enforcement to fight this crime. In March we announced an anti-human trafficking strategy, with an invest- ment of $307 million. In Au- gust we announced addi- tional funding of $7.65 mil- lion over five years to en- sure victims and survivors of human trafficking can access the services they need. These new funds will ex- pand financial assistance provided by front-line vic- tim services organizations to human trafficking vic- tims and survivors. The in- vestment will cover essen- tial expenses such as ac- commodations, meals, den- tal care, transportation, mobile phones and court- related expenses. As students return to school, we are launching two new learning tools to help kids recognize if they are being targeted by a traf- ficker and to make sure they know where to get help. The first is an online tool called "The Trap" (mcss.gov.on.ca/htapp) de- signed to raise awareness about sex trafficking among middle and high school-aged children and teens. It features scenarios based on real-life experi- ences and with the support of an adult facilitator, youth learn the skills they need to stay safe. To protect young people in Indigenous communi- ties, culturally appropriate material and resources are available at "Speak Out: Stop Sex Trafficking" (en- dindigenoustraffick- ing.com). We know human traf- ficking exists in all parts of the province, including Halton. Last October, we learned from police that in the previous 12 months, 72 separate human traffick- ing related charges were laid in Halton and 12 wom- en were rescued as a result. These are real people, vic- tims of crime rescued in our region. Human trafficking is a vicious and violent crime that preys on the most vul- nerable, robbing them of their health, dignity and safety. We will protect our kids, make sure the police have the funding they need, and most important- ly, help the survivors re- build their lives. Effie Triantafilopoulos is the MPP for Oakville North-Burlington. She can be reached at effie.trianta- filopoulos@pc.ola.org. FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING CONTINUES INVESTMENTS STRIVE TO AID VICTIMS OF THIS CRIME AND PREVENT FUTURE CASES, WRITES EFFIE TRIANTAFILOPOULOS Just over two years ago, our government was elect- ed with a promise to sup- port young people and provide job opportunities for youth. We continue to meet our promise by support- ing youth in Oakville and Ontario. The government has recently invested $43 million in expanded youth training programs to give young people exposure to more employment options and start a long and out- standing career in the skilled trades. This investment is cru- cial for the future of our province. Ontario is facing an up- coming challenge since there will soon be more jobs in the trades than people to fill them. There are 144 skilled trades in our province, and the government is en- couraging our youth to meet the demand of these jobs that everyone relies upon. An important demo- graphic that will help re- verse the labour shortage in the trades are women. My involvement with 'Plan Canada - Because I am a Girl' is about driving for change, and I believe that there needs to be a shift in the current stigma when we think of the skilled trades. The trades are a viable career path for everyone; men and women alike. The talented youth in our Oakville schools and par- ents need to see the well- paying jobs in the trades as a first option. This announcement is taking concrete action for students to explore the trades in elementary and high school and equip stu- dents early with the skills needed for these jobs. There was an increase to the Ontario Youth Ap- prenticeship Program, to a total of $15 million, which provides high school students with the opportunity to gain expo- sure to working in the skilled trades or train as apprentices while com- pleting their Ontario Sec- ondary School Diploma. Youth are the future, and we want to establish a clear path to lifelong suc- cess while supporting On- tario's prosperity. Stephen Crawford is the MPP for Oakville. He can be reached at stephen- crawfordmpp.ca. INVESTING IN YOUTH TRAINING WILL BUILD PATH TO LIFELONG SUCCESS CONTINUED INVESTMENT IN YOUTH TRAINING WILL PAY DIVIDENDS DOWN THE ROAD, WRITES STEPHEN CRAWFORD SNAPSHOT A frog finds a nice resting place at Gairloch Gardens. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Barbara Bialon photo EFFIE TRIANTAFIL- OPOULOS Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM STEPHEN CRAWFORD Column