The Provincial HSJCC is pleased to invite you to join us, as the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC) shares insights on the Indigenous experience of human trafficking, including intersecting issues such as gang involvement, housing instability, child welfare, and substance use. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of survivor experiences and how to act as effective allies in strengthening prevention and survivor-centred responses alongside Friendship Centres.
What to Expect:
This webinar will take participants through the Indigenous experience of human trafficking in Indigenous communities, including intersecting issues such as gang involvement, housing instability, child welfare, and substance use. The session will clarify key terminology and legal distinctions, explore the survivor experience, and examine both the root causes and demand drivers that sustain trafficking. Participants will leave with a stronger understanding of how to act as effective allies and collaborate with Friendship Centres to strengthen prevention and survivor-centred responses.
Presenters: Chelsea Sidloski, Nick Haisell, and Hayden Moore
Chelsea is the Anti-Human Trafficking Project Manager, OFIFC leads the development of a Friendship Centre-led Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy, Program Model, and Toolkit in partnership with 31 urban Indigenous Friendship Centres across Ontario. Her work focuses on strengthening coordinated, culturally grounded, and community-led responses through collaboration with justice partners, service providers, and provincial ministries. Chelsea has supported marginalized and at-risk populations across the Greater Toronto Area in areas of health, justice, and community development, and brings gender-based violence experience from her work abroad in Kenya and Fiji. Her academic research examined countering violent extremism and gang recruitment in fragile states, informing her structural approach to prevention and community-based intervention. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Development and a Master’s in International Public Policy specializing in Human Security.
Nick is a Senior Program Advisor – Justice with the OFIFC. His work is focused on advancing restorative, cultural, and community-based justice practices, building partnerships, and working to reduce barriers to justice for urban Indigenous people. He lives in Toronto.
Hayden is a Senior Policy Advisor – Justice at the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres. She is also a lawyer with over 15 years of experience working in various justice roles.
About the OFIFC:
The (OFIFC) represents the collective interests of 31 Friendship Centres in cities and towns across the province. Friendship Centres are places for community members and Indigenous people living in urban spaces to gather, connect with one another and receive culturally based services. Friendship Centres improve the lives of urban Indigenous people by supporting self-determined activities which encourage equal access to, and participation in, Canadian society while respecting Indigenous cultural distinctiveness.
Presented by the Provincial Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committee on April 1, 2026.