Canada on Wednesday (03/16/2022) officially banned service providers from broadcasting Russian news channels RT (formerly Russia Today) and RT France, saying their programming is not in the “public interest.”
“Freedom of expression and diversity of viewpoints are essential elements of our democracy. However, broadcasting in Canada is a privilege, not a right,” explained Ian Scott, Chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
The public body is also concerned about “programming from one foreign country that seeks to undermine the sovereignty of another, degrade Canadians of a particular ethnic origin and undermine Canada's democratic institutions.”
Major Canadian cable companies had already removed RT from their channels shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Accused of being Moscow's instruments of “disinformation” in its war against Ukraine, Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik have already been expelled from the European Union, and their television and internet broadcasts have been banned since March 2.
Launched in 2005 as “Russia Today,” state-run RT has grown to include stations and websites in multiple languages, including English, French, Spanish, German and Arabic.
jc (afp, Reuters)
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