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History

Candace Derksen
A 1984 newspaper clipping picturing Wilma and Cliff Derksen (left, courtesy of the Winnipeg Sun) and Candace Derksen.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) was founded in April 1985 as Child Find Manitoba following the disappearance and murder of 13‑year‑old Candace Derksen. Her mother, Wilma, started the organization with a handful of volunteers and the vision to provide the essential services her family did not have access to during and following Candace’s disappearance.

In 1999, after nearly 15 years of providing missing children services, staff recognized the growing threat of online sexual exploitation of children and the connection between children that went missing and an online encounter. Originally launched as a pilot initiative, Cybertip.ca was established in September 2002 as a centralized location for Canadians to report online child sexual exploitation, and to access education and prevention resources to help keep children safe online. Since then, our agency has grown into an international leader in child protection. Major milestones include:

  • May 2004 The Government of Canada recognized and announced Cybertip.ca as Canada’s national tipline for the public reporting of online child sexual exploitation under the National Strategy for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet.
  • July 2004 Cybertip.ca met with the RCMP's National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre, the Department of Justice, and internet service providers to form the Canadian Coalition Against Internet Child Exploitation (CCAICE).
Cybertip.ca launch
Then Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan speaks at the national launch of Cybertip.ca.
  • Fall 2004 C3P’s first education program was introduced. Kids in the Know is a national, interactive, safety education program designed to empower children from kindergarten to high school in order to reduce their risk of victimization.
  • May 2006 The organization changed its name from Child Find Manitoba to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) to more accurately reflect its national role in the protection of children.
  • November 2006 Cleanfeed Canada was launched. This initiative involves Cybertip.ca providing a URL list to participating ISPs who voluntarily block access to prepubescent child sexual abuse content hosted outside Canada.
  • November 2007 Commit to Kids, a step‑by‑step plan to help organizations reduce the risk of child sexual abuse of children in their care, was developed. The program was piloted through 2009 and released to the public in 2010.
  • Spring 2010 C3P took over operation of Child Find Ontario. A year later, C3P launched MissingKids.ca, a national missing children resource centre to support families in finding their missing child and provide educational materials to help prevent children from going missing.
  • October 2012 The School and Family Approaches to Intervention and Prevention: Addressing Self/Peer Exploitation guide was launched in response to the growing issue of intimate image incidents reported to Cybertip.ca.
  • July 2013 C3P issued the first Cybertip.ca Alert to inform the public of concerning technology trends and new resources designed to increase children’s personal safety.
  • October 2013 C3P launched NeedHelpNow.ca for youth impacted by a sexual picture/video being shared by peers, providing them with practical steps to regain control over the situation.
  • October 2014 C3P tabled its Digital Agenda for the Protection of Canada’s Most Vulnerable Victims at a roundtable discussion with the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, law enforcement officials, industry, and fellow advocates to strengthen the national resolve, commitment, and coordination in the fight against online child sexual exploitation.
Lianna McDonald (left) and Wilma Derksen in 2015, marking 30 years since our agency was incorporated.

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