Russian state media outlet RT Has Been Removed From Canadian TV networks

Russian state media outlet RT Has Been Removed From Canadian TV networks

The Russian propaganda station RT (Russia Today) is being dropped from some cable TV packages in Canada.

RT will no longer be available to Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. subscribers, the companies announced late Sunday. Telus Corp., a competitor, said previously that it is prepared to shut down the channel “immediately” if Canada’s broadcast regulator requests it.

This happened just 24 hours after Canada’s Heritage Minister, Pablo Rodriguez, announced the government would consider “all possibilities” to remove the Kremlin-controlled channel, following global condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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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.

According to her, Telus has provided a free Ukrainian channel and is waiving long distance and SMS rates for Canadian customers speaking with family in Ukraine.

Canada has joined a number of other Western allies in imposing sanctions on Russia as a result of its invasion of Ukraine, including personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Sunday, Canada stated that it will block its airspace to Russian planes.

Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, stated on Sunday, February 27 that RT and Sputnik, another state-run news organization, would be banned from the European Union in order to prevent them from propagating “lies” about the conflict.