About Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons

The Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons (OCTIP) develops and coordinates British Columbia’s strategy to combat human trafficking. OCTIP places the rights of trafficked people at the centre of its work.

As the first office of its kind in Canada, OCTIP joined forces with provincial ministries, federal departments, municipal governments, law enforcement agencies, and community based and Aboriginal organizations to develop B.C.'s Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking.

Mandate of OCTIP

OCTIP’s mandate is to develop and coordinate British Columbia's response to domestic and international human trafficking by:

• Coordinating services for trafficked persons in British Columbia
• Identifying gaps and barriers that a trafficked person may encounter when accessing protection and services in British Columbia
• Contributing to local, national and international efforts, including prosecutions, to prevent human trafficking

OCTIP will advise and assist other jurisdictions and organizations to develop location specific responses to international and domestic human trafficking.

Activities of OCTIP

• Implement awareness strategies to increase public knowledge of human trafficking
• Develop training for service providers on assisting trafficked persons
• Partner with community organizations, service providers, and law enforcement to coordinate services for trafficked persons
• Assist communities across British Columbia to develop service networks and community responses to international and domestic human trafficking
• Develop prevention-based education for youth about domestic human trafficking
• Collaborate across provinces and federal agencies (including with the RCMP, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canada Border Services Agency and Public Safety Canada) to share knowledge and contribute to national anti-trafficking efforts
• Negotiate Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) outlining roles and responsibilities of key community and government partners

Visit our resources page to see our annual status reports.