"We note the increasing aggressiveness of a number of protesters near the embassy, who insult our employees, family members, children, when they leave and enter the embassy," Stepanov said. "They try to create obstacles for the movement of our vehicles, which threatens to cause an accident on a busy street near the embassy."
Stepanov provided several examples of such aggressive behavior, including protesters putting Ukrainian flags on the windshields of embassy vehicles to block the driver's view when entering heavy traffic, and said that the issue has been raised with the Canadian authorities.
"Unfortunately, they rarely answer and the answers are not satisfactory," he said.
By contrast, the Canadian embassy in Russia does not experience any security-related problems or problems concerning the dignity of its diplomats, Stepanov said.
"I would like to see a more vigorous response from Trudeau's cabinet and from Canadian law enforcement agencies to the clearly existing security problems not only of our embassy, but also of our Consulates General," he said.
Asked about news in the probe of the April incident when the Russian embassy was defaced with red paint, Stepanov said, "We are told that all the cases that deserve attention from law enforcement are under investigation or consideration."
Stepanov emphasized they have not seen proactive or increased security measures after that incident, yet protesters have since tried to hang posters and banners on Russian diplomatic property or on the embassy fence.
The ambassador pointed out that the fact the authorities’ reaction time is from 5-10 minutes at best does not help anyone.
"The Canadians do not want to take preventive measures to ensure the security of our diplomatic mission. Apparently, this is the reality in which we will have to exist in the future. Therefore, we are taking our internal measures to strengthen security," he said.
At the end of April, an unknown person poured red paint over the fence of the Russian embassy in Ottawa, but by the time the police arrived, the assailant had fled the scene.
Stepanov told Sputnik in September that they have provided the Canadian authorities with video footage of an attack on the embassy with a Molotov cocktail and have expected a thorough investigation into the incident.
At the end of September, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Canadian Ambassador in Moscow Alison LeClaire and delivered a demarche regarding the attack.