“We will not be intimidated by cowards who hate our freedoms and our way of life. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress calls on law enforcement to promptly and thoroughly investigate this act of hate against the Ukrainian Canadian community. This craven attack shows the importance of effectively fighting disinformation campaigns led by the Russian state that target Canada, the Ukrainian Canadian and other Central and East European communities,” stated Alexandra Chyczij, National President of the UCC. “Recently, the German government banned the RT (Russia Today) network, as have other countries. The UCC has long advocated for the Canadian government to take seriously the pernicious influence of Russian-state led disinformation campaigns and the vitriol and hatred that they spread.”
The 2019 Annual Report for the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians found that:
The nature and extent of Russia’s foreign interference threat is significant as these activities form a key component of the broader national security threat posed by Russia. […] Foreign states use ethnic and mainstream media to spread messages and forward their own agendas. *** The PRC and the Russian Federation both manipulate mainstream and ethnic media.
The UCC calls on the Government of Canada to immediately establish a Task Force to defend against information warfare and foreign influence operations.
