Victor Gregory Malarek (born 26 June 1948) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

journalist and author, known for his book ''Hey, Malarek!'' and his tenure as one of the hosts of

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's '' The Fifth Estate'', as well as his depiction in the movie '' Target Number One'' (known as ''Most Wanted'' in the

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). 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 founded as a trading post in 1669. Developing into a parish and then an autonomous city, it was Montreal m ...

. Malarek attended the High School of Montreal, where he had a hard time. He also experienced the

child protection Child protection (also called child welfare) is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, abandonment, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm. This includes responding to allegations or suspicions ...

system in his youth. He gives a colourful account of his early days in his book ''Hey, Malarek!'' (1984),Victor Malarek, ''Hey, Malarek!'' (Toronto: Macmillan, 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'' as a police reporter in 1970. His first major assignment was reporting on the

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

October Crisis The October Crisis () was a chain of political events in Canada 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 Cross f ...

. Malarek became a writer for ''

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'' in 1976. He received three Michener Awards during his 14-year tenure with the Globe. In 1989, he was portrayed by Elias Koteas in the movie '' Malarek'', based on his first book ''Hey, Malarek!'' These works depict the journalist's turbulent youth. The 16-part

fictional drama series '' Urban Angel'' 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, Malarek 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 English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...

as Canada's top broadcast journalist. He received another Michener Award while 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 '' Target Number One'' (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. He began his career on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's drama series ''Cracker (American TV series), Cracker'' (1997–1998), after which he became known as a teen idol thro ...

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

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'', 9 April 2020. From 2000 to his retirement in 2017 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 in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

) ** 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. Oppenheimer and then acqui ...

) *2009: ''The Johns: Sex for Sale and the Men Who Buy It'', ( Key Porter) *2014: ''Orphanage 41'', ( FriesenPress) *2021: ''WheatShaft'', (FriesenPress) (Matt Kozar Book 1) *2024: ''Putin's Assassin'', (FriesenPress) (Matt Kozar Book 2)

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