Oct 6, 2017 Estonian Life No. 40 2017
By DAN LEVIN and JO BECKER - OCTOBER 4, 2017
As Canadian lawmakers took up legislation on Wednesday that would bar businesses from dealing with foreigners who have committed human rights abuses, a nonprofit group called the Russian Congress of Canada pushed hard against the measure.
The lawmakers say the effort was part of a broader lobbying campaign orchestrated by Russia against such laws, including one in the United States. Canadian human rights advocates say they were also singled out.
The pro-Russia group denies any connection to the Kremlin, but lawmakers say the push fits a pattern of Moscow-backed interference in the West. And they say that the lobbying campaign, which began in 2014 and grew with attacks last spring on Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Chrystia Freeland, highlights the dangers of Russian meddling in Canada.
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Marcus Kolga, a human rights advocate and the editor of UpNorth, a European foreign policy analysis publication in Toronto, said that information from the group, pro-Russia websites and the embassy is intended “to erode trust in our officials and democratic institutions, in that sense it’s very similar to what’s happening in the United States.”
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Read full article from here: The New York Times – Canadian Lawmakers Say Pro-Russia Group Tried to Derail Sanctions Law
