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A call for the provincial government to expand provincial legislation on human trafficking.

It comes from North Bay City Council in the form of a motion that was adopted last night.

The motion was brought forward by City Councillor Mike Anthony. He says the positive news is that the government has started to take more steps to fight human trafficking but more needs to be done specifically in the interests of protecting victims.

He’s looking at offenses related to the trafficking or purchasing of sexual services of people under 18.

Anthony says officers know instances of human trafficking taking place but need more tools to get the victims out of those situations.

He says human trafficking is taking place right here in the north.

Anthony says the issue caught his attention after hearing recently from local police that more needs to be done.

Last month, The Ontario government vowed to tackle human trafficking with a plan meant to increase awareness, help investigate and prosecute cases and boost support for victims in the province.

The plan, dubbed the Strategy to End Human Trafficking, would see the province split up to $72 million between several ministries as it strives to better co-ordinate resources to take on what officials describe as a growing and complex problem.

Also last month we told you about a private members bill called The Saving The Girl Next Door Act.

The bill includes 3 parts including having a day of awareness of human trafficking, expanding current legislation so a protection order would force the perpetrator to stay away from the victim for a minimum of 3 years and a new civil action would be created for the victim to sue the trafficker.