Russian TV gets kicked from Canada's airwaves over Ukraine fury
BNN Bloomberg
Canada’s largest television providers are removing Russia Today from their services after one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ministers said he opposed the state-owned Russian broadcaster’s presence on the nation’s airwaves.
Canada’s largest television providers are removing Russia Today from their services after one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ministers said he opposed the state-owned Russian broadcaster’s presence on the nation’s airwaves.
Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. said late Sunday that RT will no longer be available to their customers. Rival Telus Corp. said earlier it’s prepared to pull the channel “immediately” if Canada’s broadcast regulator asks it to do so.
The moves come one day after Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said the government would look at “all options” for removing the Kremlin-controlled channel, amid widespread fury over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A spokesperson for Rogers said RT will be turned off on Monday. A BCE spokesperson said the network is “no longer available on Bell’s channel lineup” as of Sunday night.
“We are devastated by the events unfolding in Ukraine,” Telus spokesperson Liz Sauve said in an emailed statement. If the country’s broadcast regulator orders distributors to remove RT, “we will immediately comply,” Sauve said. Telus has added a Ukrainian channel for free and is waiving long distance and texting charges for Canadian customers communicating with family in Ukraine, she said.
RT and other state-funded media outlets such as Sputnik are active participants in advancing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s geopolitical agenda, according to a paper published by the U.S. State Department in January.
