Canada under Russian sanctions
Russia imposed restrictive measures on 333 Canadians, including Olympic athletes.
Sanctions and mutual responses have been going on in the world for quite some time. Last March, Russia even managed to overtake Iran in the number of restrictive measures and break into the world leaders. However, the country does not intend to give up and continues to respond to unfriendly Western governments.
On April 11, Canada imposed new sanctions against Russia. During the negotiations that took place in Toronto, Justin Trudeau met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and promised to continue supporting Kyiv. In addition to military and financial aid, Canada imposed sanctions against 14 Russian individuals and 34 legal entities.
Russia did not tolerate it long and retaliated the very next day. The list of violators included 333 Canadian officials, public figures, and Olympic athletes.
The list published by the Russian Foreign Ministry includes Governor General of Canada Mary Simon, 250 members of the provincial legislatures of Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, as well as dozens of Canadian athletes who have publicly supported the ban on Russian athletes in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
"We are taking our action in response to a wave of anti-Russian sanctions from the Trudeau government, as well as against 333 Canadians who have been involved in Russophobic policies and support for the Kiev regime," Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its statement, ending the sentence with a thundering quote that "after crime comes punishment" and attaching an image of the eponymous novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. "The retaliatory sanctions are intended to encourage blacklisted individuals to change their behavior," the Ministry said in a statement.
Most of the athletes on the list are now retired, but that didn't stop them from signing a letter last month urging the Canadian Olympic Committee to support banning Russia and Belarus from the 2024 Paris Summer Games.
Nevertheless, the sanctions are more of a symbolic nature. Major international sporting events are banned in Russia, and the famous Canadian figure skater Tessa Vertue or hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser, who has become an Olympic champion four times, were unlikely to come to Moscow to compete.
