星空传媒

Politics

    • Why a photo of Freeland holding a black-and-red scarf sparked a firestorm online

    Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was photographed holding a scarf bearing the colours and slogan associated with a far-right Ukrainian paramilitary group from the Second World War at a march in solidarity with Ukraine in Toronto on Feb. 27, 2022. (Twitter / THE CANADIAN PRESS / HO) Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was photographed holding a scarf bearing the colours and slogan associated with a far-right Ukrainian paramilitary group from the Second World War at a march in solidarity with Ukraine in Toronto on Feb. 27, 2022. (Twitter / THE CANADIAN PRESS / HO)
    Share

    Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was photographed holding a scarf bearing colours associated with a far-right Ukrainian paramilitary group from the Second World War this past weekend.

    Both her office and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress suggest the questions and criticism she has received about it online is linked to a pattern of Russian-backed disinformation targeting members of the Ukrainian community.

    The Twitter account for Freeland shared photos of the federal finance minister at a Ukrainian solidarity march in Toronto on Sunday holding a black-and-red scarf with the Ukrainian phrase 鈥淪lava Ukraini,鈥 which translates to 鈥淕lory to Ukraine,鈥 written in Cyrillic.

    Toronto Mayor John Tory was in the group and his account also shared photos of the moment, including one that showed the other side of the scarf, which had the phrase 鈥淗eroyam Slava,鈥 or 鈥淕lory to heroes.鈥 Neither Tory nor Freeland are touching the scarf in that photo.

    Both accounts deleted the photos the next day. Freeland then issued an identical tweet about her presence at the march organized to show solidarity with Ukraine after Russia launched a multi-pronged attack on the sovereign country. It featured a photo without the scarf.

    Ivan Katchanovski, a political scientist at the University of Ottawa, said the red-and-black flag, along with the 鈥淕lory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes鈥 slogan, was adopted by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) during its congress in Nazi-occupied Poland in April 1941. The UPA was the armed wing of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), an ultranationalist, antisemitic and fascist organization.

    Adrienne Vaupshas, press secretary to Freeland, said in a written statement Wednesday that there were thousands of people at the event in Toronto, that many were trying to get a photo or give the Liberal cabinet minister tokens, such as ribbons, and that she tried to be friendly with everyone.

    She added that someone 鈥減ushed a scarf (that read 鈥淪lava Ukraini鈥) in front of some politicians,鈥 including Freeland. Vaupshas described it as the 鈥渟logan of Ukraine in today鈥檚 fight against Russia,鈥 and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have used the phrase too.

    The original tweet, and its subsequent deletion, garnered a lot of reaction, which intensified after online conservative news site True North Centre wrote about it on Monday. The article noted that Trudeau had called out 鈥淣azi symbolism鈥 at the recent protests in Ottawa after a swastika flag was seen in the crowd.

    鈥淐an you see the hypocrisy and double standard now?鈥 People鈥檚 Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier tweeted the next day, adding that he does not believe Freeland is an 鈥渁ctual Nazi.鈥

    鈥淎 classic KGB disinformation smear is accusing Ukrainians and Ukrainian-Canadians of being far right extremists or fascists or Nazis,鈥 Vaupshas wrote in the beginning of her statement sent Wednesday.

    The KGB, which existed from 1954 to 1991, was the security service in the Soviet Union.

    鈥淎 photo was taken, tweeted, and later replaced when it was clear some accounts were distorting the intent of the rally and photo,鈥 she added.

    鈥淲e condemn all far-right and extremist views and organizations, whether they are in Russia, Ukraine, or Canada. The deputy prime minister has no association with any far-right organizations,鈥 she added.

    Vaupshas did not comment when asked about what was written on the other side of the scarf the minister was holding.

    A statement from Tory鈥檚 office said the mayor attended the rally to show both his and Toronto鈥檚 support for Ukraine and its people. 鈥淲e are not aware of this particular scarf or its meaning. The mayor is always focused on bringing our city together during difficult times and in no way wants to do anything that divides our residents as we work to support the Ukrainian community.鈥

    Conservative MP James Bezan, who was also at the rally and seen in the photo holding a sign someone gave him that said "pray for Ukraine and stop war," said Thursday that he was not aware of what was happening with the scarf at the time. But he also suggested the attention the original photo is getting is feeding into Russian disinformation efforts.

    "I just don't think in the moment 鈥 people are thinking about how all this plays out with a Putin disinformation campaign," he said.

    According to Katchanovski, contemporary Ukrainian ultranationalist groups, such as Right Sector, have adopted the red-and-black flag along with the "Glory to Ukraine" greeting before and during the pro-western Euromaidan protests that led to the removal of former Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych from power in 2014. He said its widespread subsequent use has led some to believe that it is a traditional Ukrainian greeting.

    There have also been attempts in modern Ukraine 鈥渢o recast the OUN and the UPA as popular national liberation movement, which fought against both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, and to present OUN and UPA leaders as national heroes,鈥 said Katchanovski.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued Ukraine is committing genocide against ethnic Russians and that the state needs to be 鈥渄e-nazified鈥 as justification for his invasion.

    鈥淭he glorification of these organizations has been the subject of an emerging criticism by historians both in the West and within Ukraine,鈥 said historian John-Paul Himka, a professor emeritus at the University of Alberta and an uncle to Freeland.

    鈥淧utin has exploited the heroization of these nationalists in his propaganda. With his invasion, he has only brightened their image.鈥

    Katchanovski said scholarly studies and archival documents show the OUN collaborated with Nazi Germany in the beginning, and at the end, of the Second World War. The Bandera faction of the OUN, which controlled the UPA, led a campaign of ethnic cleansing of Poles in Volhynia in 1943. (Poland鈥檚 Parliament voted in 2016 to recognize the massacre as a genocide.)

    鈥淢any OUN and UPA leaders and members, who headed or served in the police and local administration during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, helped Nazi Germany to perpetrate in the Holocaust and Nazi genocides of Jews, Roma, Ukrainians, Byelorussians and Russians,鈥 Katchanovski said.

    Katchanovski nonetheless said neither the OUN nor the UPA were Nazis, who killed millions of Ukrainians.

    He also said Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish and a descendant of Holocaust survivors, and his government 鈥渁re not Nazis or neo-Nazis, and there is no genocide in Ukraine.鈥

    Marvin Rotrand, national director of the League for Human Rights at B鈥檔ai Brith Canada, condemned the use of the black-and-red flags spotted at pro-Ukraine events.

    鈥淭he UPA鈥檚 black-and-red flag is consistently recognized as a fascist emblem and a hate symbol throughout the international community,鈥 he said.

    After The Canadian Press contacted Freeland鈥檚 office for comment, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress sent a statement from its president, Alexandra Chyczij, reacting to allegations on social media that Freeland was showing support for extremists with the scarf.

    "The Ukrainian Canadian Congress strongly and categorically rejects these unfounded allegations and attacks against Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. Ms. Freeland obviously does not support far-right extremist organizations,鈥 she wrote.

    鈥淢s. Freeland has been a victim of Russian disinformation before and this is a typical Russian smear to discredit Ukrainians and Ukrainian-Canadians."

    Freeland, a Toronto MP of Ukrainian heritage, was banned by Russia in 2014 after Putin retaliated against sanctions imposed on his country over its annexation of Crimea.

    Her grandfather, as described in an article written by Himka that the Globe and Mail reported on in 2017, was editor of a Nazi propaganda newspaper, the Krakow News, in occupied Poland during the Second World War. The Globe reported Freeland had edited the article.

    When the news of her grandfather鈥檚 role was first reported that year, including by pro-Putin sites, Freeland initially linked it to a Russian disinformation campaign.

    This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2022

    Get in touch

    Are you in Ukraine? Do you have family in Ukraine? Are you or your family affected? Email dotcom@bellmedia.ca.

    • Please include your name, location, and contact information if you are willing to speak to a journalist with CTV News.
    • Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story. 

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca 星空传媒

    Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

    Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

    Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

    A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

    The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

    Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

    Canada

    • Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

    • Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

    • The RCMP is seeking the dismissal of three officers who have been suspended from the Coquitlam detachment since June 2021 over allegations of racist, sexist and homophobic comments made in a group chat.

    • Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

    • Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

    • The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    • A Nova Scotia woman has applied for a medically assisted death, saying after years of battling to receive out-of-country surgery for an illness that causes 'indescribable' pain, she struggles to maintain the will to live.

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    • Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

    • It was the last show for longtime children's TV star Ron (Buck Shot) Barge Friday as hundreds of family, friends and fans attended a public memorial in Calgary.

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • When Bernard Morissette got a call from Loto-Quebec on Sept. 18 and was asked if he was sitting down, he had no idea what was coming his way.

    • An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

    Sports

    • The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have won five in a row. The Edmonton Elks have won five of their last six games. They are the two hottest teams in the West. When they meet Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium, something has to give.

    • Agreement in principle has been reached to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), the two sides announced Friday.

    • F1 star Max Verstappen punished over bad word

      Formula One points leader Max Verstappen was ordered to 'accomplish some work of public interest' after uttering an inappropriate word Thursday at the news conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

    An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

    They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

    It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

    A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

    • The RCMP is seeking the dismissal of three officers who have been suspended from the Coquitlam detachment since June 2021 over allegations of racist, sexist and homophobic comments made in a group chat.

    • Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

    • On the day he spoke to one of his largest audiences to date, the leader of the BC Conservatives made an exceptionally misleading statement around a well-publicized funding model for political parties that鈥檚 been in place since 2018.

    • Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

    • The parents of a teenager who died after allegedly consuming the poisonous products of a Mississauga man are now suing him, as well as several doctors involved in her care.

    • One person was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after a multi-vehicle collision in Milton, Ont. on Friday night.

    • The man charged with fatally stabbing lifelong Banff resident Ethan Enns-Goneau in 2022 has been convicted of second-degree murder.

    • Environment Canada issued a frost advisory for Calgary late Friday afternoon.

    • It was the last show for longtime children's TV star Ron (Buck Shot) Barge Friday as hundreds of family, friends and fans attended a public memorial in Calgary.

    • Agreement in principle has been reached to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), the two sides announced Friday.

    • For years, the commute to Ottawa's west end was one of the biggest complaints for attending fans. But those who live in Kanata and in the immediate LeBreton area say the move would be a big change their respective neighbourhoods.

    • Ottawa police are investigating a shooting downtown Friday afternoon.

    • Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

    • When Bernard Morissette got a call from Loto-Quebec on Sept. 18 and was asked if he was sitting down, he had no idea what was coming his way.

    • A man who asserted his right to work in French has won his case before the Tribunal, invoking the new provisions of the province's French-language law (Bill 96) to that effect.

    • Two Edmonton Police Service officers have been criminally charged in connection with an assault.

    • Roughly 100 people gathered in an Edmonton intersection on Friday in support of 鈥 and against 鈥 the 1 Million March for Children.

    • The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge announced Friday it is now accepting reservations from guests for accommodations beginning Oct. 1.

    • A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

    • Halifax Regional Police warned the public of a series of high-value thefts targeting retail stores Friday.

    • Air travel is back in full swing at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

    • The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

    • A plane approaches the grass runway at Harv鈥檚 Air School south of Steinbach. Nothing is getting in the way of a clear, smooth landing, but owner Harv Penner worries, that could soon change.

    • The University of Manitoba's College of Dentistry is dealing with some unexpected consequences from the federal government's new Canadian Dental Care Plan

    • Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

    • Regina police are responding to a collision involving a motorcycle on Friday evening.

    • Five Regina schools were placed into lockdown or secure the building mode following a report of a weapons investigation at Miller High School on Friday.

    • Protests were held in front of Kitchener City Hall on Friday, both for and against LGBTQ2S+ inclusive education and queer rights in schools.

    • The provincial government is considering new rules to restrict a municipality鈥檚 ability to install new bike lanes if it means traffic lanes would be removed.

    • A new scam is being reported in communities across the country.

    • Hospital beds in hallways, supply shortages in the neonatal intensive care unit, and operating rooms being put on hold are some of the concerns nurses are voicing, according to the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN).

    • The Saskatchewan RCMP major crimes unit is investigating after a 29-year-old man died in hospital.

    • A garage fire in Saskatoon鈥檚 Willows neighbourhood on Friday narrowly missed igniting an attached home, according to the fire department.

    • Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

    • Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

    • A Brampton driver, 27, was charged this week when northern Ontario police stopped the SUV he was driving on Highway 17 after a reported shooting and found more than $100,000 in cash.

    • A man is in hospital with life threatening injuries following a collision between a motorcycle and a vehicle on Friday afternoon.

    • NEW

      NEW

      Under intense cross-examination from Crown Attorney Jennifer Moser, the embattled former Mayor of Woodstock stuck to his story denying that he ever did anything inappropriate to his female accuser.

    • Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.

    • Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

    • A jury has found a Barrie man guilty of second-degree murder for the stabbing death of a man at a Banff bar two years ago.

    • The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is searching for the occupants of a vehicle caught on security cameras during a fatal police-involved shooting on Goyeau Street.

    • Windsor police say a 25-year-old mother has been charged with the drowning death of her 5-year-old child in the family鈥檚 backyard pool.

    • The federal government is investing $18.4 million dollars into the region.

    • A home has been transformed for the benefit of a B.C. neighbourhood, by a man who was transformed by the caring of his community.

    • When the federal government announced all open net fish farms on the British Columbia coast need to be out of the water by 2029, it also promised to produce a draft transition plan by the end of July. It missed that target by seven weeks.

    • New Democrat Leader David Eby has launched his British Columbia election campaign a day early, making the key battle ground of Surrey his first stop.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls 鈥 including one that gave birth to 10 puppies 鈥 from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • After a summer of preparation, the Lethbridge Hurricanes are ready to open the 2024-25 season.

    • As a new semester is underway, Lethbridge Polytechnic and the University of Lethbridge say the number of students on campus is on the rise.

    • A Lethbridge resident is facing charges after police seized drugs and weapons at a traffic stop for bicycle equipment violations.

    • A 26-year-old driver from Surrey, B.C., has been charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm in a crash that killed two youths in northern Ontario last year.

    • Ontario Provincial Police say three suspects from southern Ontario have been charged and drugs worth $300,000 have been seized following a traffic stop Sept. 16.

    • A Brampton driver, 27, was charged this week when northern Ontario police stopped the SUV he was driving on Highway 17 after a reported shooting and found more than $100,000 in cash.

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow CTV News