OTTAWA – The new Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s fight against the sexual exploitation of children received significant support from the Government of Canada this week with an investment of $2 million in new funding for the Centre over the next two years.
"This announcement is another concrete action that our government is taking to protect children from online adult sexual predators, and to prevent them from being sexually abused,” said the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, in a press release.
“This funding follows an investment we provided the RCMP to combat child sexual exploitation, as well as legislation we introduced to toughen the penalties against adult sexual predators by raising the age of consent from 14 to 16 years old.”
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the personal safety of all children. It provides education and awareness programs and services to reduce child victimization.
One of the first initiatives of the recently established Centre supported by the new funding is the launch of its new Child Protection Plan. This comprehensive online tool allows parents to assess the risks and dangers their children face on the Internet and in the community, providing them with step-by-step guidance about how to increase their child’s safety.
The funding will enable the Centre to increase public awareness and continue building on the success of its programs, including Cybertip.ca, Canada’s national tip line for reporting online child sexual exploitation, and Kids in the Know, a prevention program to help children improve their personal safety and reduce their risk of abduction and sexual exploitation.
“The work of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and its collaboration with the Government of Canada, law enforcement, and our private sector partners has resulted in numerous arrests, the shutting down of thousands of child pornography websites, and the improved safety of our children,” said Lianna McDonald, the Centre’s Executive Director.
“This month alone we have seen multiple arrests on child pornography charges and a major international child pornography investigation with ties to Canada,” said McDonald. “The public awareness initiatives and programs delivered by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection are vital to the protection of our children from this kind of victimization.”
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s primary private sector partners are Bell Canada, Telus, Shaw, and Honeywell. These partnerships include generous financial support and assistance with program delivery and content which have been fundamental to the Centre’s success in battling the sexual exploitation of children.
"Bell is proud to be a Founding Partner of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and to join the Centre in the fight against online exploitation of Canadian children. Over the past five years Bell has made it a priority to support important initiatives aimed at making the Internet safer for our children," said Mirko Bibic, chief of regulatory affairs, Bell Canada, in a release.
"We are proud to stand with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection in our shared fight against the online sexual exploitation of children and in our joint campaign to increase Internet safety for all of Canada’s children," said Janet Yale, Telus executive vice-president of corporate affairs.
“The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is an excellent example of the success partnerships play in responding to and preventing the complex and unthinkable crimes of child sexual exploitation and abuse,” added RCMP Superintendent Earla-Kim McColl.
