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CTV News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
‘Pretty lady': Sask. MLA testifies about text messages with alleged human trafficking victim
WATCH: A Saskatchewan Party MLA took the stand in a human trafficking trial Tuesday, alleging she contacted him about her employment conditions and work status. As the trial of two men accused of human trafficking continued Tuesday, Saskatchewan MLA Doug Steele took the stand. The Sask. Party official detailed how he met the alleged victim at the Empire Diner in Gull Lake. 'She was the waitress those mornings that we stopped for breakfast,' Steele said. This restaurant is one of the three which the complainant — whose name is protected under a publication ban — says she was hired to work at before allegedly having her personal documents and wages stolen by her employers. She also testified to experiencing abuse and blackmail by the accused, Mohammad Masum and Sohel Haider. Masum is facing additional charges of sexual assault. Steele told the court that he gave the woman his business card during one of his visits to the diner. Steele testified he then got a phone call from the woman asking for information about employment standards and immigration permits. 'She sounded a bit distraught, it was very hard to understand her given the language [barrier]...It was concerns on the terms of how to be compensated via salary...[work] Permit concerns and not feeling very comfortable at her workplace,' Steele said. Steel told the court that he spoke with colleagues within the legislature to learn more about the logistics of immigration work permits. He said they continued to have occasional correspondence about her employment situation and concerns. 'There seemed to be more concern of unhappiness at the place of employment,' said Steele. 'At the time, I was not aware of the extraordinary circumstances ... Some [of her] concerns were being afraid, wondering if there was going to be an opportunity to leave there, and also possibly having to leave Canada,' Steele said. The MLA testified that he communicated with then-MLA for Kelvington-Wadena Hugh Nerlien about the complainant's situation. Nerlien's constituency is adjacent to Tisdale, where the woman worked in one of the restaurants at the time. Steele testified that he and Nerlien sought out community resources which might meet the complainant's needs. Eventually, Steele arranged for his assistant to pick up the complainant from a house in Elrose, and drive her to a women's shelter in Swift Current. After the woman was transported to the shelter, the MLA testified to providing a statement to police. When asked why he didn't contact law enforcement prior to relocating the woman, if he felt the woman was in danger, the Cypress Hills MLA said he didn't know the extent of the situation. 'At the time, not knowing the details, that it was not my place to contact them between Hugh and we hoped [the contact at the women's shelter] could gather the details and give that signal or do that,' Steele said. While Steele testified to deleting his messages with the complainant, he did confirm that there was a message in which he complimented the woman's physical appearance. 'I told her not to worry and called her pretty lady ... just a compliment,' Steele said. The MLA added that the complainant responded by calling him a 'handsome gentleman.' Steele told court he spoke with plain-clothed Regina police officers with Nerlien, where they gave statements about the situation. The defence then began cross examination. Steele was asked about his correspondence with the complainant. The MLA testified that there was no formal record of his contact with the alleged victim. Steele testified that he did not ask the woman to sign the typical consent form required when beginning a formal case due to the language barrier, but he continued to correspond with the woman via phone calls and text messages and discuss the topic with other officials, including Nerlien. The defence additionally pressed Steele regarding alleged Facebook correspondence between the MLA and the woman. Steele told the court that he did not recall communicating with the complainant through Facebook. After being presented with evidence displaying a Facebook Messenger communication between the two, Steele agreed that he and the woman were Facebook friends. The trial resumes Thursday in Rosetown.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Sask. MLA connected to human trafficking trial had office staff drive woman to shelter, court hears
A former staffer for a Saskatchewan Party MLA told court he was asked to transport an alleged human trafficking victim from a basement in Elrose to a women's shelter in Swift Current. Mohammad Masum and Sohel Haider were each charged on June 29, 2023 with one count of human trafficking, and Masum has an additional three charges of sexual assault. The charges stem from allegations that the two men hired a Bangledeshi woman to work in three Saskatchewan restaurants in Elrose, Gull Lake, and Tisdale where she only kept a fraction of her wages and experienced sexual abuse and blackmail. The defence has alleged the woman fabricated the sexual assault allegations in a bid to stay in Canada. The complainant, whose name is protected under a publication ban, says she agreed to work in the restaurants in exchange for a salary, and room and board. While briefly working in an Elrose restaurant, the woman testified she was given a bed in a cold and dirty unfinished basement. The trial resumed Monday as Sean Checkley took the stand. Checkley worked in the office of MLA Doug Steele at the time — one of two current and former Saskatchewan Party MLAs who conspired to help the woman who police say is a victim of human trafficking. He testified he was asked to help relocate the woman from a home in Elrose to a women's shelter in Swift Current. Checkley testified he drove to the Elrose address at the direction of Doug Steele and helped the woman load her belongings into his vehicle. He offered a description of the basement where the victim was living at the time, which he says he saw for a few minutes. 'The downstairs was a wooden staircase, which lead to a unframed cement floor basement, which was cold, with very little lighting. In that basement there was a shower that did not have walls didn't have a curtain on it either,' Checkley described the victim's demeanor as timid, shy, and exhausted, with a clear sense of urgency to leave the house. 'Initially very nervous, and in a state of hurry to get out of there,' The witness testified that while the victim's English was limited, she thanked him multiple times during the hour-long drive to Swift Current. After ensuring the alleged victim was safely with staff in the shelter, Checkley recalled returning to Steele's office and giving a statement to RCMP. He testified that after the ordeal, he felt it should have been a police matter. 'Originally I did question why ... I didn't have much information at all but after seeing the seriousness [the complainant] took it, I questioned to myself why I was there instead of RCMP,' It is still unclear as to how Steele initially came in contact with the alleged victim. The trial continues this week.
CTV News
05-06-2025
- CTV News
Sask. judge denies defence bid to halt human trafficking trial
WATCJ: A provincial court judge has denied a bid from defence to halt a human trafficking trial. A provincial court judge has denied a defence application to have human trafficking charges stayed. The trial of Sohel Haider and Mohammad Masum continued Wednesday in a makeshift courtroom at the Rosetown Elks Hall. In 2023, the RCMP charged the men with human trafficking a woman to work at restaurants in Gull Lake, Tisdale, and Elrose. Earlier in the trial, Haider's defence lawyer filed a Jordan application, arguing that Haider's right to a timely trial had been violated. Under the Jordan ruling, matters in Canadian provincial courts must conclude within 18 months of charges being laid. The trial was originally scheduled for five days last September. Delivering his decision Wednesday, Judge Miguel Martinez outlined the timeline and ruled on whether the defence contributed to the delays. Subtracting delays caused by the defence, Martinez said the trial's expected conclusion would still be about six months over the 18-month limit. The Crown argued that the delays were due to exceptional circumstances, noting that this is only the second time human trafficking charges have gone to trial in Saskatchewan and that the entire proceeding requires translation. Martinez agreed, ruling the case's complexity justified the delay. Following the ruling, Masum's lawyer, Michael Owens, resumed cross-examining the complainant—a Bangladeshi woman who cannot be identified due to a publication ban. Owens questioned why the woman didn't flee during trips to Saskatoon, suggesting she had opportunities. He also asked why she didn't try to escape during a trip to the United States. The woman testified that Masum had her phone, laptop, and 'important documents' that she couldn't leave behind. Masum also faces charges of sexual assault. Owens asked why the woman didn't fight back during the alleged assaults. She said she tried, but Masum was stronger. Martinez halted the line of questioning, stating courts cannot assume how victims respond to sexual assault. The defence later alleged the woman fabricated the sexual assault allegations in an effort to stay in Canada. Court heard the woman's work permit expires in October. She also holds a 10-year visitor visa. The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- CTV News
Sask. human trafficking trial hears conflicting testimony from key witnesses
A human trafficking trial connected to three small-town Saskatchewan restaurants heard contradictory testimony from two key witnesses on Wednesday. The trial of Mahammad Masum and Sohel Haider continued through its third week Wednesday with cross-examination of Hugh Nerlien, a former Saskatchewan Party MLA who court heard was enlisted by his colleague Doug Steele to pass a clandestine note with a safe contact number to a woman, whose name is protected under a publication ban, that police say was forced to work long hours for little pay and was sexually assaulted by Masum. The court heard Steele, Sask. Party MLA for Cypress Hills, met the woman at Empire Diner in Gull Lake and grew concerned she may be in an exploitative employment situation. Nerlien, who served as MLA for Kelvington-Wadena from 2016 to 2024, testified he and Steele were concerned for her welfare and regularly spoke about what whether to intervene and how. When the woman was suddenly moved from Gull Lake to Tisdale to work at Little Town Restaurant, Nerlien said he went for lunch and passed her a note with the number of a nearby settlement agent he believed could help. When the trial began in September, the woman testified Masum made unwelcome sexual advances shortly after she arrived in Tisdale. She told court he grabbed her from behind in the walk-in freezer and kissed her neck. Later, she says he drove her to a secluded area, removed her pants and raped her. After the woman had left her job at Bob's Diner in Elrose to what witnesses described as a 'safe place,' Nerlien said she contacted him for help updating her resume – and that they communicated regularly over text and email for that purpose. Court heard Nerlien told police the woman changed her number or phone provider, and as a result, he lost their messages and was unable to provide them with RCMP investigators. In cross-examination, Nerlien said he couldn't remember why he lost the message he exchanged with the complainant – whether it was because she got a new phone, or he did, or both. But in an unexpected revelation Wednesday as the woman returned for cross-examination, she denied Nerlien provided any help crafting her resume. As her testimony all went through a court-appointed Bengali translator, the judge asked her to clarify whether she contacted Nerlien for resume help at any point – before or after her employment at the three restaurants connected to the case. Again, she said no, moments before the trial adjourned for the day. The defence is expected to continue with its cross-examination of the complainant on Thursday. The move to Canada, struggle to find work When the Bangladeshi woman at the centre of this human trafficking trial returned to the stand for cross-examination Wednesday afternoon, she told court she always dreamed of living in Canada. 'As a child I used to collect maple leafs,' she said, testifying she was enchanted by the idea of seeing snow for the first time. Court heard the woman earned two masters degrees in Bangladesh and formerly worked at a government-run geological research laboratory. The woman described her lifestyle in Bangladesh as 'first class' – she, her husband and her close relatives had good jobs and lived well, she said. 'I wouldn't say we were wealthy, but we didn't have any needs.' She testified she travelled to Toronto on a visitor's visa and stayed to find work at the encouragement of her relatives. Court heard she applied for a number of restaurant jobs in Toronto, including Burger King, with no success, so she started looking farther afield, responding to ads from businesses in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Empire Diner in Gull Lake was the first to call back.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- CTV News
Human trafficking trial continues in Rosetown court
Watch WATCH: The trial of Mohammad Masum and Sohel Haider continues in a makeshift Rosetown courtroom.
