Manitoba Minister Rochelle Squires responds to a question during a news conference after a Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment meeting in Vancouver on Friday, November 3, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
WINNIPEG — The province is investing more than $900,000 on initiatives to combat child sexual exploitation in Manitoba.
Families Minister Rochelle Squires made the announcement Tuesday at the start of Stop Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Week.
“The safety and security of children is a priority for our government, and we are committed to enhancing supports to ensure the best possible outcomes for vulnerable youth, including those at risk of sexual exploitation,” said Squires.
The funding will be divided as follows:
• Up to $200,000 to develop a provincial training and awareness campaign for hotel staff in partnership with the Manitoba Hotel Association
• Up to $80,000 to New Directions for Children, Youth, Adults and Families to update the training it provides to service providers who work with sexually exploited youth
• $424,000 in new annual funding to the Toba Centre for Children and Youth to support the development of a new model of community-based supports for abused children
• More than $200,000 for two-year contracts with three organizations to provide abuse investigation training and online standards training. These contracts will be awarded to the Forensic Practice, the Whole Truth and Technology for Learning Group.
“The targeted investments I am announcing today support programs and organizations that share our goal of keeping kids safe, and I am pleased to support this critical work.”
