Why did Canadian tax dollars go to Russian propaganda film?

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It’s fascinating to watch the Trudeau government talk about Russian propaganda in Canada without acknowledging they have funded it.

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While the Liberals and their CBC allies in the media sweep in on one Russia story, there isn’t much discussion of federal funds going to Russian propaganda.

Let’s unpack these complex, distinct and yet related stories.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced they had charged two employees of RT, a TV network and propaganda channel for Putin’s Russia. The allegation is that these two employees of the state-owned broadcaster funneled money to a Tennessee-based online media company, Tenet, that in turn paid American influencers in an attempt to push Russian talking points.

That Tennessee-based company is owned by a woman born in Canada and raised in Hong Kong named Lauren Chen. After studying in California and Utah, she settled in the Nashville area and built a popular online following.

There really is no solid Canadian connection here, but that hasn’t stopped Liberals in Canada from trying to draw one.

CBC journalist Jonathan Montpetit has published two articles on Russian media propaganda in Canada in the last week. The reason that’s shocking is that this “senior investigative journalist,” as his bio describes him, has only published four articles in all of 2024 – half of them on Russian propaganda with alleged ties to the right wing, but not in Canada.

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Meanwhile, federal funding of an actual Russian propaganda film hasn’t been commented on by Montpetit or much of Ottawa’s establishment.

Russians at War, a documentary that was scheduled to air at the Toronto International Film Festival, received $340,000 from the Canadian Media Fund, $70,500 from Ontario’s government broadcaster TVO and an undisclosed sum from the government of British Columbia. While TVO has since denounced the funding of the film, there is no similar statement from the CMF.

Let’s be clear, the Canadian Media Fund wouldn’t exist without the federal government.

At $190 million in funding in 2023, the Department of Canadian Heritage is the organization’s biggest funder. The second biggest source of funding, Canada’s cable and satellite companies, only fund the CMF because they are forced to by the federal government.

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Forget about any Russian propaganda in the United States being pushed by American influencers though a connection to a woman who used to live in Canada, this is direct funding of Russian propaganda by Canadian taxpayers.

The Canadian Media Fund wouldn’t exist without the federal government’s funding or it forcing other organizations to provide money. The current board chair Dr. Michael Schmalz was even one of the federal appointees through Canadian Heritage.

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“It’s not right for Canadian public money to be supporting the screening and production of a film like this,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Wednesday.

Freeland was holding court with journalists covering the Liberal caucus retreat in Nanaimo, but none asked her about the federal funding, the biggest portion of government money supporting this project.

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The film credits the Government of Canada, the Canadian Media Fund, TVO, Ontario Creates, British Columbia’s Knowledge Network and a number of other private funders. They should all be ashamed of their participation in the film, which tries to whitewash Russia’s part in invading Ukraine.

That said, if we are really worried about Russian propaganda and influence campaigns – and we should be – then let’s talk about the ones happening in this country rather than the ones happening stateside.

Yet, just as with China’s interference in this country, the main concern of the Liberals isn’t protecting the country – it’s using the Russia issue to try and win votes.

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