Major Canadian Cable operators said they would drop The broadcaster public Russian RT from their channel line-up in reply to russia invasion of Ukraine.
Rogers Communications and Bell of BCE Inc said on Sunday that RT would no longer be available on their systems. TELUS also tweeted that Telus Optik TV was joining the move.
Shaw Communications removed RT effective from Monday, according to users who subscribed to RT as pick and the paid service would receive a credit in the next billing cycle.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez praised Bell for restricting RT, claiming Russia conducted information war across the world. Rogers would replace RT with a broadcast of the Ukrainian flag, he said.
“RT is the propaganda arm of Putin’s Regime Spreading Disinformation. He does not have place here,” Rodriguez added.
The European Union also banned RT and news Sputnik agency. Last week the bloc unveiled the sanctions on Editor-in-Chief of RT-in- chef Margarita Simonyan, calling her a “central character” of Russian propaganda.
Google from Alphabet Inc. on Saturday banned RT and other channels from receiving money for ads on their websites, apps and YouTube videos, similar to a move by Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc, after Russia invasion of Ukraine.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special transaction”.
Canada joined other countries crawling up punishments on Moscow, closing son airspace to Russian aircraft.
Transport Canada said on on Sunday that Russian airline Aeroflot had violated the ban and the regulator would launch a review in the incident.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the sanctions against Russia would impose “significant costs on accomplices of the Russian elites.”
Alcohol stores in some Canadian provinces removed Russian and other Russian vodka made alcoholic beverages from their shelves. Canada’s most populous province, also headed the Liquor Control Board of Ontario on Friday to remove all Russian products.
