According to a statement posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website, 86 of the current 90 senators are now on the “stop list” or “black list” of foreigners who will be barred from entering the Russian Federation. Russia also added a former senior member of parliament, Sen. Diane Griffin, to the list of 87. Of the four current senators not on Russia’s latest list, one, Senator Percy Down, acknowledged that he had already been expelled. . “Welcome, fellow senators. I have been on this list / banned by Russia since 2017 when I supported the #MagnitskyAct vote. “I think my speech” that the current Russian government was a criminal organization disguised as a government “was the turning point,” he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. Senator Tony Dean was also absent from the list, he told CTV News he would “write to complain immediately.” The embassy statement said sanctions against the vast majority of members of the Senate were “reciprocal” because of Canada’s “hostile” Russian sanctions. The Canadian government has repeatedly imposed sanctions on a wide list of top Russian government and military officials as well as wealthy and powerful oligarchs in a bid to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his attacks on Ukraine. In March, Russia imposed sanctions on hundreds of lawmakers and other Canadians, including Prime Minister Justin Trinto, Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie and Defense Minister Anita Anand, in retaliation for their support for Ukraine. Russia warns that further sanctions are being “planned”, including the extension of the “stop list”.
