Marking 20 Years of Reducing Online Child Victimization

“The landscape of child online protection profoundly changed 20 years ago with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s launch of Cybertip.ca – Canada’s national tip-line for reporting of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

What a significant and truly commendable achievement. The list of accomplishments by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and Cybertip.ca over the years are extensive, and need to be recognized. In a perfect world, we would never need Cybertip.ca, but the fact that the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre has witnessed a dramatic increase in reports of online child exploitation over the las 20 years is a sad statement on where we are as a society, and that child sexual exploitation and abuse remains a global issue.

Thankfully, there are individuals like the team behind Cybertip.ca who continue to work tirelessly to protect the most vulnerable of our society. You have been dedicated to reducing child victimization through technology, education and public awareness, while supporting survivors and their families. Cybertip.ca is an integral partner to law enforcement in the fight against online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Bottom line is you save lives!

Congratulations on 20-years of exemplary and tireless work. Cybertip.ca’s contribution to saving countless children in Canada and abroad from this horrific abuse is immeasurable.”

Commissioner Brenda Lucki, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

“Bell is proud to be a founding partner of Cybertip.ca and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, reflecting our early recognition of the important role we have to play in supporting the safety and security of children in a growing digital world. We extend our sincerest congratulations to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection on the 20th anniversary of Cybertip.ca, an invaluable resource that protects children from online sexual exploitation in communities across Canada each and every day.”

Mirko Bibic, President and CEO, BCE and Bell Canada

“As someone who was there when Cybertip.ca was still just a concept, this is a special day. Back then we had no idea what the internet would bring, but we knew Canada needed a tipline. Twenty years later, this organization and its leaders are a global model for how to get the job done correctly.”

Roz Prober, former Executive Director of Beyond Borders

“For the past 20 years, the work accomplished by the dedicated people at Cybertip.ca has helped many Canadians navigate the trauma associated with online child sexual abuse. Their efforts allow reporting persons, including many children, a safe and dependable place to disclose online abuse. The work done by Cybertip.ca tackles two very important areas: combating online child sexual abuse, and supporting the victims of this abuse.

The Winnipeg Police Service is grateful to have an excellent long-standing relationship with Cybertip.ca. The WPS receives many reports of inappropriate online activity from Cybertip.ca. Recently, the number of children encountering online child sexual abuse has sharply increased. The WPS has relied heavily on support resources provided by the Canadian Centre of Child Protection, including Cybertip.ca, to assist these child victims and their families in the healing process that often follows their victimization.

With admiration, the WPS congratulates Cybertip.ca on 20 years of protecting and supporting some of the most vulnerable members of our community. We look forward to continuing our working partnership well into the future.”

Chief Danny Smyth, Winnipeg Police Service

“I began working in the Internet Child Exploitation field in June 2002 and spent 17 years working alongside Cybertip.ca. It is hard to express in words how grateful I am for all the work they have done to protect children.

From the very first time I met Lianna and Signy, I knew they were special people. I could see immediately how driven they were in their pursuit to prevent child exploitation on the Internet and to rescue those victims that didn’t have a voice. There is no such thing as “it can’t be done.” What appears to others to be an impenetrable wall, is merely a slight speed-bump in the road for those working at C3P and Cybertip.ca. They never give up.

The thing is, I don’t think most Canadians realize what a world-leading organization we have had in our own backyard all this time, protecting and searching for exploited children. Cybertip.ca never sleeps. They have always been on guard and will continue to be. All citizens, especially parents, owe a huge debt of gratitude to those working at Cybertip.ca.

One of the largest cases we ever worked on in Toronto involved a Toronto man who was manufacturing and distributing child sexual abuse material around the entire world from a business in Toronto. It was called Project Spade. Reports from Cybertip.ca helped us identify the business and have a successful investigation that led to the arrest of over 400 people and the rescue of over 400 children worldwide from sexual abuse. Many of those arrested had close ties to children such as doctors, politicians, nurses, teachers, priests and police officers.

But this is just one small example of literally hundreds in which information from Cybertip.ca helped either rescue a child or led to the arrest of someone exploiting children online in Toronto. They are literally the guardian angels of the Internet.

Another thing that always impressed me about Cybertip.ca and C3P was their ability to tackle difficult and distressing Internet child exploitation topics such as sextortion in a unique and humourous way that appeals to and gets noticed by young people. In my experience, many organizations in this field have programs designed by adults that, frankly, only appeal to adults. But Cybertip.ca and C3P clearly understand children appreciate their wants and needs.

Finally, the Internet Safety materials produced by Cybertip.ca and C3P are the best in the world. Packages such as the Self/Peer Exploitation Guide were my go-to guides to assist parents, school boards, and organizations. The guides are beautifully produced and so informative. We simply don’t have time in law enforcement to compile Internet safety information in such a compelling and helpful way and these guides are invaluable to us. The Commit to Kids guide is another important program that assists parents and organizations in ensuring a safe environment for children and should be required reading at any organization that works with children.

To me, the people at Cybertip.ca and C3P that I have got to know over the years are like family.  They truly care about children and the investigators that are working tirelessly to protect them online. Congratulations on 20 years and thank you for all you have done for children everywhere!”

Inspector Paul Krawczyk, Toronto Police Service

For the last two decades, the people working at Cybertip.ca have exemplified what it is to be leaders in the community by protecting the most vulnerable members of society; our children. During that period of time, the Vancouver Police Department and Cybertip.ca have worked hand in hand at safeguarding those who often have little to no voice. As seen by the dramatic increase in online child exploitation incidents in the last few years, the Vancouver Police Department’s success at identifying suspects and providing support and resources to victims of online child exploitation would not be the same without Cybertip.ca. Queen Elizabeth II was once quoted as stating that, ‘History was not made by those who did nothing’ and the work done by Cybertip.ca in the last 20 years is a perfect example of what that means.”

Chief Constable Adam Palmer, Vancouver Police Department

“It is hard to believe that it's been 20 years since those first days of Cybertip and our work in child protection. I remember having conversations with the gentleman who was the police liaison at the time, trying to sort out how we could share our collective "intelligence" with a focus of better protecting children. From the beginning, the people at Cybertip and then the Centre for Child Protection, have been nothing short of miracle workers. Their passion for our children's safety and commitment to supporting Law Enforcement, has been humbling to be a part of. Working in child protection has been a highlight of my career in the RCMP and I have been honoured to work with you and so many others in the Centre for Child Protection.

There are few words to express my appreciation for the support the Centre has provided me, my co workers and so many others.

Thank you, for your commitment to us and our children.”

C/Supt RCMP (retired) Janis Gray

“My name is Frank Goldschmidt and I have been retired from the OPP for just over five years after 35+ years of service. The most memorable years of my career was when I ran the OPP’s Child Exploitation unit, and then later the Provincial Strategy on Child Exploitation. It was a difficult job to do when I first started in that unit in 1991, as there was very little support from the government and no legislation specific to child exploitation. There were no other agencies that worked alongside us to provide any kind of support or assistance.

In September 2002 came a breath of fresh air, when a tiny program called Cybertip.ca was launched. I quickly made contact with this group to learn about their program and their goals. I was completely impressed. I spoke to the lady in charge who identified herself as Signy Arnason. Very knowledgeable, very passionate about the goals of the program and very interested in working with and learning from law enforcement about what we were dealing with in the world of child exploitation. Within the following year I made arrangements to travel to Winnipeg to visit Cybertip.ca and the people who ran it. Nothing like this program existed in Canada and there was a definite need for this service.

When I arrived at the Cybertip.ca office, I think I was one of the first people to attend from an out of province police agency. I recall that the offices were very tiny and were located on the second floor overtop of another business. I spent the entire day there and quickly learned about their program and their goals. I was impressed with the program and especially with the people who worked there. They were driven and very compassionate. I saw this as the birth of something that would become very big and important. They would become the first NGO in Canada to work with law enforcement.

Over the following many years I remained in touch with Cybertip.ca on a regular basis. The organization grew fast, the program became well known to police in Canada and the rest of the world. They became a partner and worked well with us and were always there to help. I made another trip and met with Signy and Lianna, and we strategized. And yes, this time around they were relocated in larger quarters. I have nothing but great things to say about these folks and the work that they do. They are a true asset to the members of law enforcement and have contributed to efficiencies to policing the dark world of child exploitation. I will always be one of their biggest fans and wish them all the best in the future.“

A/Inspector (Retired), OPP, Frank L. Goldschmidt M.O.M.

“From the start as Attorney General in 1999, we publicly committed to work with stakeholders to make the protection of children a hallmark of our mandate.
A couple of months into my post, I met with Child Find Manitoba’s director, Lianna McDonald. I asked how I could help.

Lianna replied, “Canada needs a cyber tip line.”
I said, “Great. Let’s get started. I’ll find some funds to develop the thing.”
I asked myself, “What’s a ‘cyber?’”

With modest seed money to secure ongoing funding and create a working model, cybertip.ca was born. We then helped with other initiatives that went national. Government can make long-lasting change when it partners with determined, indeed driven and devoted, community leaders.”

Former Attorney General, and current Director of Government Relations at C3P, Gord Mackintosh