According to the Ministry of Transport, Canada decided to close the airspace of Belarusian planes as part of a package of economic measures against Russia and Russian oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin.
“Any aircraft directly or indirectly owned, registered, chartered, leased, operated or controlled by citizens of the Russian Federation or Belarus is prohibited from entering, leaving or flying into Canadian airspace,” the Ministry of Education said on its official Twitter profile.
The Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, also confirmed the measures that apply to all air carriers who have certificates issued by Russia and Belarus and who have already been notified to airlines operating in the country.
Earlier this week, the Canadian Foreign Ministry imposed a new package of sanctions against 15 senior Russian officials in response to the invasion of Ukraine, bringing in more than 500 individuals and organizations sanctioned by Ottawa since the invasion began.
Similarly, the Canadian government officially banned service providers from broadcasting Russian news channels RT (formerly Russia Today) and RT France on Wednesday, stating that programming is not “in the public interest.”
“Freedom of expression and diversity of views are essential elements of our democracy. However, broadcasting in Canada is a privilege, not a right.” “, explained Ian Scott, president of the Canadian Broadcasting and Communications Commission (CRTC).
Government agencies were also concerned about “programming in one foreign country trying to undermine the sovereignty of another country, degrading the Canadians of certain peoples, and undermining Canada's democratic system.”
Russian state media RT and Sputnik, accused of being tools of Moscow's “false information” in the context of the war with Ukraine, have already been expelled from the European Union, and television and Internet broadcasts have been banned from March 2.
Launched as “Russia Today” in 2005, the state-run RT has grown with broadcasters and websites in several languages including English, French, Spanish, German, and Arabic.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doubled his call for help from the West to fight the invasion of Russia by his country, including the establishment of a no-fly zone, in an emotional speech delivered virtually to the Canadian Parliament announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
(Including information from the Europa Press)
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