It’s not just the ‘n’ word that Radio-Canada hates; Kyiv or Kyiv are also discussed.

The history of Ukraine is one of the most complex in the world. Like some other Eastern European countries, Ukraine did not have an easy time. In just one century, this country, now at war, was independent for just three years before being subdued by the Soviet Union until 1991.

A few months before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine once again declared its independence. But in 2014 Russia annexed Crimea. A civil war with pro-Russian nationalists followed, and then the Russian invasion in February 2022.

A few days after this invasion, the Toronto news service CBC decided to ban the word Kyiv, the Russian name of the Ukrainian capital, from the airwaves and replace it with Kyiv, the Ukrainian name.

In Montreal we discussed the issue, we hesitated, but Director General for Information Luce Julien decided: If we change our name to Kyiv, Radio-Canada (whose extreme neutrality is proverbial, we know all too well!) will appear to be on stand by the side Ukraine…

OFFICIALLY IT IS Kyiv

Madame Julien therefore decreed that we would continue to say “kyiv on the air”. The BBC, Associated Press, major American networks and most British and French newspapers also chose Kyiv The Journal of Montreal and The Journal of Quebecbut not Radio Canada.

It is not yesterday that Ukrainians want to get rid of the Russian name of their capital and distance themselves from Russia. In 1995, four years after the declaration of independence, the Ukrainian government officially adopted Kyiv as the name of its capital.

Three years later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine launched a campaign urging all countries to stop using the Soviet designation. Ukrainians have been advised to do the same to finally reclaim their identity, a situation well understood in Quebec where we have gone from “French-Canadians” to Quebecers.

For a long time neither the media nor the public referred to Mumbai by the name Bombay, which the British gave it during the colonial period.

Most of the French channel’s journalists and correspondents repeated these arguments to Madame Julien, but to no avail. The chief’s order is formal: it’s not about saying Kyïv (which must be pronounced “Kive”), but Kyiv. Strictly speaking, Kyiv is even condoned as being pronounced “kief,” a pronunciation common among Russians that has been scratching the ears of Ukrainians, especially since the Russian invasion.

DO TORONTO AND MONTREAL TALK TO EACH OTHER?

Madame Julien would be so keen that people would tell Kyiv that one of Radio-Canada’s oldest correspondents (37 years of journalism!) got a slap in the face for using the name Kyiv three times in the same report.

However, the 1^ah On March 20, 2022, nearly a year ago, Laura Carlin, who plays the role of linguist Guy Bertrand on Radio-Canada for the CBC, sent out a memo to all staff asking them not to speak from Kiev from now on Kyiv.

Isn’t it surprising that Madame Julien shows so much deference to Russia when the latter hasn’t hesitated to abruptly close the office Radio-Canada had had in Moscow for decades and expel all Canadian employees?