A former Saskatchewan MLA testified he passed a secret list of safe contacts to a Tisdale restaurant server who police allege is a victim of human trafficking. Hugh Nerlien, who was the Saskatchewan Party MLA for Kelvington-Wadena until 2024, took the stand Tuesday in the trial of two men accused of trafficking a woman to work at three restaurants in small-town Saskatchewan, Sohel Haider and Mohammad Masum. Haider and Masum were charged in June 2023 for allegedly forcing the woman — whose name is protected under a publication ban — to work up to 60 hours a week for less than minimum wage at restaurants in Tisdale, Gull Lake and Elrose. Masum is also accused of sexually assaulting the woman while she stayed in Tisdale. Last week, the woman testified she was told she would work for $1,000 a month plus lodgings and a few meals per day until she got her Canadian work permit — for a fee of $12,000. After she obtained the permit, she said her employer told her she would be paid $24 an hour, but had to share her debit card and pin number so they could withdraw any wages they paid her in excess of $1,000. Nerlien took the stand Tuesday, testifying he was asked by Cypress Hills MLA Doug Steele to check in on the woman after she was moved from Gull Lake to Tisdale to work at Little Town Restaurant. He says Steele felt the woman “was at some risk,” and that she had been moved because “they found out she had talked to him.” “Mr. Steele had shared with me it did not appear to be a normal employee-employer kind of environment. There was shared concern in his community, that he shared with me, that something wasn’t right.” Nerlien testified the woman had told Steele she was “being watched all the time” by her employers. He told court he printed off a note with links to some resources and the name and phone number of a “safe contact” — an immigration settlement agent for northeastern Saskatchewan named Jody Campbell. “Clandestinely, I passed the note to her with my business card,” Nerlien testified. “She said to me … if he asks you what you gave to me, tell him it’s garbage,” he said. “I would hope anyone would be concerned in a situation like that.” Nerlien says the woman’s demeanour was unusual for a restaurant server. “She seemed very nervous … tight,” he said. After she had left Elrose and her employment, Nerlien said she told him over text that she was concerned that “at some point they would find her.” He told court that he wasn’t certain if she was caught in some immigration issue, “or if there was physical harm.” Nerlien testified he did not contact the RCMP about the woman, but he did provide a statement to two officers in an office in the legislature, with Steele present. In its cross-examination Tuesday afternoon, the defence council questioned why Nerlien didn’t call the police directly, if he was concerned with her safety and welfare. He told court that he and Steele felt it was a very sensitive matter, and they were trying to act discretely until they gathered more information. “I had no evidence of physical harm, but I was concerned.” He said he passed the woman Campbell’s contact number, believing she might be more comfortable confiding in another woman. The defence turned to questions of what the two politicians did, and did not, share with the RCMP, setting its sights on Facebook messages between Steele and the woman that Nerlien said he helped Steele screenshot and assemble into a document later handed over to police. Nerlien never provided RCMP with his own record of communications with the complainant, the defence said. Court heard Nerlien told the RCMP the woman may have changed her phone or provider, and as a result, he lost their message history. Nerlien testified she may have changed her number, and he may also have replaced his own phone — he couldn’t remember. The defence is expected to finish its cross-examination of Nerlien on Wednesday, before getting a chance to question the complainant.
