More than 100 arrested in countrywide child exploitation operation, police say

OTTAWA — Police say they have made more than 100 arrests and laid more than 300 charges in a national child exploitation crackdown, with some help from device-sniffing dogs.

Representatives of the RCMP and other police forces provided an update Wednesday on a project aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse.

RCMP Insp. Matthieu Girard told a news conference the recent sweep, known as Project Steel, led to the identification of dozens of victims and 37 children being safeguarded from harm.

A total of 1,132 electronic devices were seized, and charges laid so far include possession, distribution and accessing child pornography.

Girard said the numbers are preliminary and there are hundreds of ongoing investigations.

Child protection requires a joint approach involving law enforcement, government, non-governmental organizations and technology companies working together, he said.

“Public awareness also plays a vital role in protecting children, as it reduces stigma and increases the likelihood of reports to authorities,” he added.

Project Steel brought together 63 law enforcement partners from across Canada, led by the Ontario Provincial Police, Quebec’s provincial police force and the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre.

Girard, the officer in charge of operations at the RCMP centre, praised officers for doing the “very difficult work” of investigating exploitation.

“Every day, police personnel across Canada are working hard to help children,” he said.

Det. Andrew Ullock of the Peel Regional Police internet child exploitation unit brought along Harley, a four-year-old Labrador retriever trained to sniff out cellphones, computers, thumb drives and small digital cards.

“Anything that can store data, she can detect by scent,” Ullock said.

Once police have finished searching premises for digital devices that might contain images of child exploitation, it’s Harley’s turn to look.

“It’s important that we don’t miss devices, because missed devices means missed evidence, and missed evidence can also mean a missed victim that we would have had a chance to otherwise identify,” Ullock said.

In the last two years, Harley has found devices that investigators missed in about 60 per cent of searches conducted under a warrant, he said.

Harley also provides needed emotional support.

“Those of us who work in this field of internet child exploitation, we are all vulnerable to vicarious trauma,” Ullock said. “So having a dog, a companion, a co-worker like Harley, who’s in our office every day, she has full run of the office — she lightens the load for us, she improves the mood.”

— With files from Catherine Morrison

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2025.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press