Home Newsroom 2005 Speeches (archive) McLellan: 2005-01-24

The national launch of Cybertip.ca

Speaking notes for
The Honourable Anne McLellan

Ottawa, Ontario
January 24, 2005

As delivered

Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everyone. First of all, Lianna [McDonald] I want to acknowledge the presence of our two colleagues from Ontario who joined us just a little bit late, the Honourable Monte Kwinter at the end of the table and Attorney General Michael Bryant and I think one or both will probably be making a few remarks in relation to Ontario’s strong commitment to this project .

I also want to acknowledge here today two senators, Senator Carstairs from Manitoba, and Senator Landon Pearson, who, I think it’s fair to say, has, within our government, really been the most vocal voice, the driving force in terms of making sure we start to focus on issues of children generally, but especially the sexual exploitation of children. Senator Pearson, thank you.

I do want to especially acknowledge my colleague Gord Mackintosh because it was in his province, Manitoba , that Cybertip.ca was a pilot project. I know that Gord personally has been very, very committed to this initiative and in fact, has been pushing very hard to make sure that Cybertip.ca became a national endeavour. So I want to especially acknowledge, Gord, for his commitment to this project.

So today, it is with great pleasure on behalf of the Government of Canada, that Irwin [Cotler] and I are pleased to officially launch Cybertip.ca, our national tip line for reporting online child exploitation.

In the February 2004 Speech from the Throne, this Government made a commitment to do more to ensure the safety of our children. As part of that commitment, in May 2004, I announced the Government of Canada’s National Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet. This Strategy is supported by child protection legislation introduced in October 2004 by my colleague, Irwin Cotler. And Irwin’s going to speak a little bit about that in just a few minutes. Canada ’s Bill C-2 is considered the most comprehensive child protection legislation of any country in the world and is a complement to the National Strategy.

The National Strategy is a partnership involving Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, my department, the RCMP and Industry Canada . A total of $42million over five years has been dedicated to the National Strategy, ensuring a comprehensive, coordinated approach to protecting children on the Internet. Of this funding, the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre received $34 million over five years and $3.5 million over five years has been committed to fund Cybertip.ca.

Cybertip.ca provides Canadians with the opportunity to report online child abuse, offers valuable tips on how parents and caregivers can safeguard their children to prevent their victimization online, and is designed to assist law enforcement officials in combating the sexual exploitation of children online.

Since its inception in May 2002, the pilot project has been successful. To date, ten arrests have resulted directly from tips received through online reporting – an excellent example of how we can all work together to protect Canada ’s children.

Ladies and gentlemen, I want to congratulate and thank all of you for your hard work and dedication in helping to make this pilot project a reality. The fact is that Cybertip.ca is making a difference. And it is bringing us closer to the important goal of protecting our children.

Again, I know there are so many people in this room – including ministerial colleagues who’ve just come from the Ministers’ of Justice meeting in the room next door – who are so committed to the protection of our children. And the national rolling out of Cybertip.ca is one part of that Strategy.

I just want to thank all of you because it is with your commitment and support from different levels of government, law enforcement, and the private sector that we are able to do what we’re doing today. Thank you all very much on behalf of the Government of Canada.