Victor Gregory Malarek (born 26 June 1948) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

journalist and author, known for his book ''Hey, Malarek!'' and his tenure as one of the hosts of CBC's '' The Fifth Estate'', as well as his depiction in the movie ''

Target Number One ''Target Number One'' (released as ''Most Wanted'' in the United States, ''Suspect numéro un'' in Quebec) is a 2020 Canadian crime drama film directed by Daniel Roby.Dino-Ray Ramos"Saban Films Acquires Crime Thriller ‘Most Wanted’ Starring J ...

'' (known as ''Most Wanted'' in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

). He retired as senior investigative reporter for CTV's W5 in 2017.

Biography

Victor Malarek was born on 26 June 1948 in

Lachine, Quebec Lachine () is a borough (''arrondissement'') within the city of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It was an autonomous city until the municipal mergers in 2002. History Lachine, apparently from the French term ' ...

. Malarek attended the

High School of Montreal The High School of Montreal was an English-language high school founded in 1843, serving Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the area eventually known as the Golden Square Mile. It was less formally known as Montreal High School and from 1853 to 1870 was ...

, where he had a hard time. He also experienced the

child protection Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...

system in his youth. He gives a colourful account of his early days in his book ''Hey, Malarek!'' (1984), which was a popular success and was made into a film. Malarek entered the world of journalism in 1968 as a copy boy for ''Weekend Magazine'', and joined ''

The Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the domina ...

'' as a police reporter in 1970. His first major assignment was reporting on the

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James C ...

. He became a writer for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' in 1976. In 1989, he was portrayed by

Elias Koteas Elias Koteas (; el, Ηλίας Κοτέας; born March 11, 1961) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Alvin "Al" Olinsky in the ''Chicago'' franchise, as well as appearing in lead and supporting roles in numerous films. He won the Cana ...

in the movie ''

Malarek ''Malarek'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by Roger Cardinal and released in 1988.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 135. Based on the memoirs of Canadian investigative journalist Victor Malarek, the fil ...

'', based on his first book ''Hey, Malarek!'' These works depict the journalist's turbulent youth. The 16-part CBC fictional drama series ''

Urban Angel ''Urban Angel'' is a Canadian television drama series, which aired on CBC Television from 1991 to 1993.

'' in the 1991–1992 season was also inspired by Malarek's life. From 1990 to 2000, Malarek was one of the hosts for CBC's ''The Fifth Estate''. In ''The Fifth Estate'' episode "The One That Got Away", Malarek exposed police and prosecutorial misconduct that resulted in Calmar man Jason Dix's wrongful accusation of double murder. After the episode aired, Dix was awarded a judgment of almost $765,000. In 1997, he won a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

as Canada's top broadcast journalist. Malarek also received four

Michener Award The Michener Award is one of the highest distinctions in Canadian journalism. The award was founded in 1970 by Roland Michener, who was Governor General of Canada at the time, and his wife Norah. The idea for the award was developed in 1969 with Bi ...

s, three of these during his tenure with ''

'' and the other at ''The Fifth Estate''. In 2020, his 1980s investigation of the arrest of Canadian drug addict Alain Olivier in Thailand was dramatized in the film ''

'' (known as ''Most Wanted'' in the United States), in which he was portrayed by

Josh Hartnett Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor and producer. He first came to attention in 1997 for his role as Michael Fitzgerald in the television crime drama series '' Cracker''. He made his feature film debut in 1998 in th ...

.Dino-Ray Ramos
"Saban Films Acquires Crime Thriller ‘Most Wanted’ Starring Josh Hartnett"
''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

'', 9 April 2020. Malarek worked as the senior reporter for CTV's investigative program ''W5''. Malarek is the author of seven books. His most recent book, ''Orphanage 41'', was released in 2014.

Bibliography

*1984: ''Hey, Malarek! : The True Story of a Street Kid Who Made It'' (

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

) ** French version ''Hé, Malarek!'' , (Éditions du Trécarré, translation by Michel Beaulieu) *1987: ''Haven's Gate: Canada's Immigration Fiasco'', (Macmillan) *1989: ''Merchants of Misery'', (Macmillan) *1996: ''Gut Instinct: The Making of an Investigative Reporter'', (Macmillan) *2003: ''The Natashas: Inside the Global Sex Trade'', (

Viking Books Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

) *2009: ''The Johns: Sex for Sale and the Men Who Buy It'', (

Key Porter Key Porter Books was a book publishing company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1979 by Anna Porter, later well known as a writer, the company specialized in Canadian non-fiction, although it published some fiction too. It ceased ope ...

) *2014: ''Orphanage 41'', (

FriesenPress Friesens Corporation is Canada's largest printer of hardcover books. They are employee-owned, specializing in hardcover books and yearbooks, and located in Altona, Manitoba, Canada. Friesens also operates a self-publishing subsidiary named Frie ...

)

References

External links

CTV: Victor Malarek profileAn Interview with journalist Victor Malarek: on traditional vs self-publishing, human trafficking and his new book Orphanage 41 with FriesenPress
* * ttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/slaves/needs/malarek.html PBS Frontline: Interview: Victor Malarek
Complicity, complacency, corruption drive global trafficking trade
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malarek, Victor 1948 births Living people Canadian television reporters and correspondents Canadian Screen Award winning journalists High School of Montreal alumni Journalists from Montreal People from Lachine, Quebec Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Anglophone Quebec people Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian male journalists Canadian investigative journalists CTV Television Network people 20th-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian journalists