Russia unveils Canadian sanctions list
The actor Jim Carrey, journalist Steve Bandera, novelist Margaret Atwood and the premier of the province of Alberta, Danielle Smith are among 100 names added to Moscow's list of sanctioned Canadians. Many of the individuals have engaged in activism on behalf of Ukraine.
The most recent expansion of the Russian blacklist is in response to “the ongoing practice by the regime of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau” of blacklisting “Russian leaders, politicians, lawmakers, businesspeople, experts, journalists, cultural figures and anyone the Russophobic Canadian authorities consider objectionable,” the ministry said in a statement.
Carrey is one of the most well-known names on the list. The Canadian-born comedian became a household name in the 1990s but has mostly retired from acting at this point, preferring painting and political activism in the service of liberal causes.
Joining him on the Russian blacklist are Margaret Atwood, the author of “Handmaid’s Tale” and another outspoken liberal activist, and Katheryn Winnick – an ethnic Ukrainian best known for her role in the TV series ‘Vikings.’
The most prominent among them is CTV journalist Stephan “Steve” Bandera, the grandson of Stepan Bandera, leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).
During the Second World War, OUN’s militant wing – Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – assisted Nazi Germany in the mass murder of over 800,000 Jews and massacred over 40,000 Poles. Modern Ukraine reveres Bandera as a hero, however.
The highest-ranking official on the blacklist is Danielle Smith, a Conservative politician who became premier of Alberta in October. Back in April, she had advocated neutrality for Ukraine, but publicly recanted after just a week in office. Alberta has a substantial ethnic Ukrainian population.
PM Trudeau was sanctioned back in March, after Moscow said he was trying to compete with the US in “Russophobic rage.” His lieutenant Chrystia Freeland has been under Russian sanctions since 2014. She is the granddaughter of Mikhail Chomiak, who published a pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic newspaper in the occupied Polish city of Krakow.
