Authorities in Canada formally banned broadcasters from broadcasting RT (formerly Russia Today) and RT France on Wednesday, saying their content was not in the public interest.
“Freedom of expression and diversity of views are essential components of our democracy. However, broadcasting a program in Canada is a privilege, not a right, “said Ian Scott, chairman of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CRTC).
The agency expressed concern about a “foreign program seeking to undermine the national sovereignty of another,” to “reduce Canadians of a particular ethnicity,” and to “undermine democratic institutions in Canada.”
A few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, several major providers in Canada, notably the Bell and Rogers & Shaw groups, had already decided to stop broadcasting RT.
In early March, the CRTC launched a public consultation. There were 350 interventions in favor of stopping the broadcast of the program on Russian television networks and 16 in favor of its continuation.
As they are accused of being Moscow’s “misinformation” instruments, especially in connection with Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Russian state media RT and Sputnik have been banned in the European Union. The ban on broadcasting their content on television and on the Internet came into force on March 2nd.
RT, which began broadcasting in 2005, then known as Russia Today, was funded by the Russian state and developed into television content and websites in a variety of languages, including English, French, Spanish, German and Arabic.
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