Russia has shuttered the Moscow offices of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC and revoked the visas and accreditations of its journalists. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the move was in response to Ottawa's decision to ban RT in March.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said with regret that we continue to notice open attacks on Russian media from the countries of the so-called collective West who call themselves civilized. A decision was taken to make retaliatory measures in relation to the actions of Canada. Russia's response came two months after Ottawa imposed a ban on RT broadcasts in English and French. The Canadian Radio- Television and Telecommunications Commission CRTC said on March 16 that the continued authorization to distribute RT and RT France is not in the public interest. The CRTC claimed that RT's programming was not consistent with Canadian standards or policy objectives, and that it was concerned that it tried to undermine the sovereignty of another country, demean Canadians of a particular ethnic background, and undermine democratic institutions within Canada. After a campaign of complaints by ethnic Ukrainian organizations, the decision was made.
The UK, EU, and Australian authorities have also banned RT and other Russian media organizations since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.