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Hotels to join battle against child abuse

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WINNIPEG — Hotel staff across Manitoba are to be enlisted in the battle against child sexual exploitation.

The Manitoba government and the Manitoba Hotel Association announced the plan at a conference in Winnipeg Wednesday.

Jim Baker of the hotel association said the campaign is modelled after one in Alberta and will be rolled out in mid-April.

The 250-member association and the province are co-funding the program.

Baker said its goal is to give hotel staff the tools to recognize when patrons checking in or using a room may be sexually abusing a child.

Family Services Minister Gord Mackintosh said the program will also get authorities involved earlier in abuse cases if reports from hotels are made to police.

Winnipeg police Insp. Bill Fogg said there is no information to gauge how often children are sexually abused in hotels.

But he said the program will still serve a purpose in making staff aware of the issue and to call police if they suspect something is wrong.

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