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Rogers suggests Canada ban RT and other Russian state-owned broadcasters from Canada

Mar 9, 2022 | 9:43 AM

OTTAWA — Communications giant Rogers is suggesting that Canada ban all state-owned Russian broadcasters from the air, not just RT. 

It is suggesting that all broadcasters owned or controlled by President Vladimir Putin’s sanctioned regime, including RT, Channel One Russia and RTR Planeta, be removed from Canada’s airwaves. 

Rogers made its suggestion in a formal submission to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which is carrying out a speedy inquiry into whether RT should be banned from Canada’s airwaves.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez asked the CRTC to review whether the broadcaster should be banned for spewing out Kremlin-controlled propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine.

Most public submissions to the consultation, which finished Tuesday, favour banning RT from Canada, with many condemning it as propaganda. 

But some people told the CRTC that Canadians should be able to subscribe to the Russian channel to get a different viewpoint of the invasion of Ukraine. 

Rogers, Bell and other Canadian broadcasters have already removed RT from their lineups, with Rogers replacing the channel with a Ukrainian flag. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2022.

The Canadian Press