Canadian telecom firms block Russian state-owned broadcaster RT

Canadian telecom firms block Russian state-owned broadcaster RT.

Major Canadian cable operators have said they would drop Russian state-owned broadcaster RT from their channel line-up in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Shaw Communications (SJRb.TO) on Monday removed RT, saying users who subscribed to RT as a pick and pay service would receive a credit in the next billing cycle.

Rogers Communications and BCE Inc’s (BCE.TO) Bell said RT would no longer be available on their systems. TELUS also tweeted that Telus Optik TV was joining the move.

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission did not immediately respond to request for a comment.

Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez praised Bell for restricting RT, saying Russia had been conducting information warfare 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 that spreads disinformation. It has no place here,” Rodriguez added.

The European Union also banned RT and news agency Sputnik.

Earlier, the bloc unveiled sanctions on RT’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, calling her “a central figure” of Russian propaganda.

Alphabet Inc’s Google (GOOGL.O) on Saturday barred 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 (FB.O), after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.