The federal election is less than three weeks away and Prime Minister Stephen Harper made another campaign pledge ahead of voters going to the ballot box.
On Sunday, Harper announced that if he was re-elected, the Conservative party would invest $8 million annually for five years to establish new RCMP human trafficking teams in four different Canadian cities: Winnipeg, Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.
In a press release, the Conservatives said this will “facilitate coordination between national and local law enforcement officials.”
According to the RCMP, as of January 2015 there have been 85 completed human trafficking cases where convictions have been secured and 151 individuals convicted of human trafficking offences.
READ MORE: Winnipeg man arrested in human trafficking case
The release outlined Harper’s plan to support victims of human trafficking and target criminals engaged in human trafficking including a campaign promise to invest $20 million to renew the Human Trafficking Action Plan for an additional 5 years.
He also promised to double existing funding to help victims of human trafficking reintegrate into society.
Harper said February 22 would be established as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
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