‘Badge of honour’: Ban from Russia doesn’t faze Premier Horgan

BC Premier John Horgan considers it “a badge of honour” that he’s now one of over 60 Canadians indefinitely banned from entering Russia.

On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry released its “stop list” of 61 Canadian government officials, military personnel and journalists, including Horgan and fellow Premiers Jason Kenney, Heather Stefanson and Doug Ford.

In a statement, the ministry said the group is “directly involved in the development, substantiation and implementation of the Russophobic course of the ruling regime in Canada.”

But the ban doesn’t faze Horgan.

“I am proud to stand with Ukraine, and I am proud to stand with British Columbians who are working together to make life better for people who are fleeing violence,” Horgan said at a Thursday press briefing.

“If the Russians don’t want me to visit, I had no plans to go. But I guess I’ll scratch that off my list of things to do.”

Horgan recalled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the steps BC took in solidarity with the war-torn country, including halting the importing and sale of Russian liquor products at BC Liquor Stores.

“The fact that we were able to catch the attention of a brutal dictator in the middle of an illegal invasion of a neighbour tells me that British Columbians stood up immediately,” added Horgan.

“[They] said we are going to boycott Russian products, we are going to stand up and open our hearts and our homes to the Ukrainian people.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry says that in the near future, “a new announcement is planned on the next expansion of the Russian ‘stop list’ in response to the hostile actions of the Government of Canada.”