The Liberals are openly suppressing alternative views and escalating a war with a nuclear armed state. In recent days they’ve helped ban an anti-war film, labelled a media outlet foreign interference and sought to bomb deep inside Russia.

Last Tuesday Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland boosted a campaign to suppress the screening of Russians at War at the Toronto International Film Festival. The successful campaign follows on the heels of TV Ontario buckling to pressure by withdrawing their planned airing of a film opposing Russia’s war while simultaneously humanizing its fighters. In “Canada bans film showing Russians as humans” Chris Selley explains, “The most important point is that government and government-funded entities — Ontario’s public broadcaster, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), TIFF, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and other MPs — successfully conspired to keep people from seeing the film and judging for themselves.” The proponent of the NATO proxy war concluded, “I’m 100 per cent on Ukraine’s side in this war, and I think Canada should stand foursquare behind it. But if it’s at the cost of one of our core values, freedom of speech, then what the hell is the point?”

In a similar vein, Global Affairs released a “Statement by Minister Joly on Russian interference” on Friday claiming state broadcaster RT was acting as an intelligence agency. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said RT has been “acting as an extension of Russian intelligence services, relying on state-backed hacking, psychological and information operations, covert influence and military procurement.” Joly even claimed RT “caused cyber incidents against Western targets, including Canadian critical infrastructure.”

Joly’s statement was released in conjunction with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announcing that the US, Canada and Britain “urge every ally, every partner, to start by treating RT’s activities as they do other intelligence activities by Russia within their borders.” Blinken said the three countries were instructing their diplomats to pressure countries to target RT.

RT is undoubtedly an important part of Russia’s global propaganda system (akin to Qatar’s Al Jazeera, France 24, Turkey’s TRT, Iran’s Press TV, Venezuela’s Telesur, China’s CGTN and Germany’s DW, not to mention Voice of America or Radio Canada International). While its political aims are undeniable, RT is also a serious news outlet that offers valuable perspective and information on many issues.

It’s hard to believe RT is engaged in cybercrimes. Why would Moscow undermine its successful media enterprise when other branches of the Russian state engage in those activities?

It’s more likely that the Blinken/Joly effort is designed to weaken the media outlet of a geopolitical competitor while bolstering the “Russiagate” narrative that Donald Trump is a tool of Moscow. Big and small l liberals in Canada have sought to paint Pierre Poilievre and other conservative forces in the same way.

A CBC article on Friday’s RT measure included an ominous threat from Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc regarding a station Ottawa banned from Canadian public air waves two years ago. After the US attorney general indicted RT officials two weeks ago LeBlanc stated, “Any Canadians who illegally assist in Russia’s persistent attempts to use disinformation, criminal and covert activities, and corruption to undermine our sovereignty and democratic processes will face the full force of Canadian law.” Ottawa has previously suggested that saying NATO expansion contributed to provoking Russia’s 2022 invasion is “disinformation”. And, according to Ottawa, it’s disinformation to say the Canadian role in ousting elected president Viktor Yanukovich and undermining the Minsk II peace accord contributed to the invasion. In other words, the Canadian government is insisting it gets to determine what is true and what is propaganda regarding the Ukraine-Russia war. Where does it stop?

Last week the Globe and Mail reported that “Russian propaganda in the war against Ukraine could get a boost” if Canada released the names of the 900 former Nazis who came to Canada after World War II. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress is seeking to block the heretofore secret Part 2 of the 1985 Deschenes Commission Report on War Criminals in Canada, which received new attention after Parliament gave a standing ovation to former SS soldier Yaroslav Hunka a year ago. They argue that releasing the names of the 900 Nazis “could fuel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that the invasion of Ukraine amounts to a purge of Nazis.”

Alongside the censorship push, Justin Trudeau declared his support for giving Ukraine the ability to employ long-range British missiles into Russia. About 36 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin said this move would amount to NATO being “at war with Russia”, Trudeau stated “Canada fully supports Ukraine using long-range weaponry to prevent and interdict Russia’s continued ability to degrade Ukrainian civilians (and) infrastructure, and mostly to kill innocent civilians in their unjust war.”

British personnel are involved in Ukraine launching the Storm Shadows missiles. A month ago when the Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region began, Canadian light armoured vehicles were videoed inside Russia and the Department of National Defence said that was fine.

The Ukrainian incursion into Kursk has led to a burst of commentary suggesting there’s little danger in crossing Putin’s “red lines” since Russian territory has been occupied without it causing World War III. But, as Kim Darroch, a former British ambassador to the US and National Security Advisor, commented to the Financial Times regarding the Storm Shadows, “if they are confident that Putin’s bluffing, then fine. But he’s bluffing until he isn’t.”

Fortunately, more sober minded officials within the Pentagon appear to have prevailed over Anthony Blinken and Justin Trudeau regarding launching missiles deep into Russia. But no major Canadian politician or commentator seems to have publicly opposed Trudeau’s escalatory position.

There is almost no questioning of the NATO proxy war in Canada. We’re too busy banning films suggesting Russians are human beings.