A close reading of Canadian media shows precious little reporting on the efforts by organizations and individuals who are advocating making peace in Russia-Ukraine conflict. In fact, increasingly those efforts are being systematically silenced by the media and government spokespersons, some of whom have met peace efforts with open contempt. Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the UN disdainfully called them “useful idiots” serving Russia’s propaganda.  

This is in stark contradiction to the peacekeeping/fair-minded image that Canada has so carefully cultivated when it comes to our country’s foreign policy.

In truth, Canada and the increasingly captive main stream media have successfully sold the Russia-Ukraine war as a simple matter of a pathologically aggressive, imperialistic Russia led by a psychopathic autocrat, Vladimir Putin, bent on recreating the defunct Soviet empire. So, it was just a simple matter of when would  the invasion of Ukraine begin. 

Nowhere in media coverage is there any mention that there may have been other reasons for the conflict. Perhaps, the overthrow of a pro-Russia and democratically elected Ukrainian government in 2013/4 by an anti-Russia one, aided and abetted by the US, with an assist from Canada and other Western European nations, had something to do with it. Especially when it led to a civil war that saw the deaths of over 14,000 Ukrainians, largely Russian-speaking, who objected to the coup. Nor does it ever mention Russia’s efforts in supporting a peace agreement, dubbed the Minsk Accord, which would have ended the civil war but for the interference of the US and EU nations that nixed the plan. Instead, as some European leaders, Angela Merkel, for example, stated plainly: The Minsk Accord was used to buy time in order to arm Ukraine to go to war with Russia instead. Yet not a word of it is ever mentioned in our “free and democratic” press.

Furthermore, having lost over 20 million people after the German invasion in WWII, Russia may have legitimate concerns about a fully armed Ukraine, supplied and trained by the US and NATO (both hostile forces) on Russia’s border. That, to Canada and the US, who have never been invaded in their history, is brushed aside as an excuse by a bloodthirsty nation.

Instead what we have is Canada virtually declaring war on Russia. Our defence minister Anita Anand talking about unwavering support for Ukraine; sending war tanks; air defence systems; armoured personnel carriers, throwing cash at Ukraine like so much confetti; training Ukrainian troops, etc.

In the meantime, our press relentlessly vilifies anything Russian and prints disgraceful caricatures of the Russian leader.  And to think, all this against a country that never threatened Canada in any way, shape or form.

Drunk, it seems we are, and spoiling for a fight against anything the US takes aim at, we’re now combing the skies for “Chinese spy” balloons, and bringing them down with multi-million dollar missiles.

Do Canadians really want leaders who are out there picking fights with enemies we didn’t even know we had?