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Quebec to invest $11M to fight online child sexual exploitation

Geneviève Guilbault, Quebec's public security minister, made the announcement on Thursday. Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press

The Quebec government has announced the creation of a new police unit to fight sexual exploitation of children online, to the tune of $11 million over the next five years.

The announcement was made Thursday in Montreal by Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault, interim director of the Sûreté de Québec Mario Bouchard and Sylvain Caron, the head of Montreal police.

READ MORE: Quebec provincial police crack down on child pornography in raids

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The number of youth-related crimes in the area of sexual exploitation to grow, including child luring and child pornography, according to Guilbault.

From 2012 to 2019, the number of police increased from 100 per year to more than 1,000.

The new team will be in charge of co-ordinating investigations against cyber predators. Co-ordination in the area is particularly important because this type of crime knows no boundaries, according to Bouchard.

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