Latest news with #MartinaPillarova
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Police warn of potential sexual exploitation as visitors arrive for Grand Prix weekend
Passengers arriving in Montreal's Trudeau Airport Thursday were met with officers to prevent criminal activities related to sexual exploitation for Grand Prix. Passengers arriving in Montreal's Trudeau Airport Thursday were met with a joint force of officers from Montreal police, provincial police and the RCMP hoping to prevent criminal activity related to sexual exploitation during Grand Prix weekend. The event has been tied to a rise in incidents of prostitution and human trafficking, according to RCMP spokesperson Martina Pillarova, so officers set up kiosks at the arrivals area to intercept passengers as they disembark from their flight. 'The authorities take this opportunity to reiterate that the purchase of sexual services is a crime at all times. Clients should be aware that the vast majority of women are forced to do so. By purchasing sexual services, clients contribute to the financing of sexual exploitation networks,' Pillarova said in a statement to CTV. Meanwhile Montreal's airport authority also put posters in its washrooms with information for those who may be a victim of trafficking The airport awareness campaign was applauded by Jennie-Laure Sully, coordinator of the Concertation de Luttes Contre l'Exploitation Sexuelle (CLES), but she says the problem goes far beyond Grand Prix weekend. 'It's the beginning of the season. Sexual exploitation will be a problem during this weekend, but it's also a problem throughout the year,' she said, adding that younger victims are being lured online with promises of a glamourous lifestyle. Sully said it's important that parents have conversations with their kids and look for any warning signs. She said the organization has helped parents whose daughters disappeared during Grand Prix weekend. 'Very often what they'll say is 'she told me that she was going just for the weekend, for a hostess job, for a private party.'' For anyone with information regarding suspected cases of human trafficking or requiring assistance, the RCMP said to call the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010, which operates 24/7 in 200 languages. All calls are confidential.
CBC
07-03-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Parents and their 2 toddlers found 'frozen' after crossing U.S. border into Canada: RCMP
A family of four, including two children aged one and two, was rescued by the RCMP overnight Thursday after crossing the American border into Canada and becoming lost in the woods in Havelock, Que. RCMP Cpl. Martina Pillarova said the four were suffering from severe hypothermia when they were found. "They were in a very bad state," she said. "They were not able to move anymore. They were frozen." Pillarova said the family possibly became lost in the woods after crossing the border and had been walking for hours before the mother called 911. "It was the [Sûreté du Québec] who received a call and they called us for assistance at around 3:15 in the morning," Pillarova said. That call, she explained, allowed police to get GPS co-ordinates of their approximate location and narrow down the search area. They were located within an hour in the forest, sitting huddled beneath a tree and unable to move. The parents were found barefoot, having lost their boots in some sort of body of water, according to Pillarova, and the children were not dressed for winter weather. "The children were dressed only in shoes and sneakers, no hats, no gloves. So they were in a bad, bad condition," she said. The family members were transported out of the woods to a waiting ambulance, with the mother carried on a sled, the two young children in the arms of officers and the father being rescued a short time later. Pillarova said the ambulance was waiting roughly one kilometre away from the rescue site, on Covey Hill Road in Havelock. The Sûreté du Québec and local firefighters assisted in the rescue operation. As of Friday afternoon, Pillarova reported that all four family members remained in hospital and were in stable condition. The RCMP confirmed the family asked for refugee status and the Canadian Border Services Agency are now in charge of the file.
