![]() COC CEO David Shoemaker said in February that it would be "next to impossible" to pull it off this close to the Games.įor now, at least, the federal government seems happy to defer to the COC. They also don't want the Beijing Games moved. The measure also called on the IOC to move the 2022 Olympics from Beijing.īut the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees, like the USOPC, are against boycotts and argue that they don't work. In February, the House of Commons voted unanimously (minus Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Cabinet, who abstained) in favour of a non-binding motion to declare that China is committing genocide against more than 1 million Uighurs in the Xinjiang region. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh are among those who have called for the Beijing Games to be moved, and O'Toole also supports a boycott if China doesn't change its "conduct." There's an extra layer to the debate in Canada with China's ongoing detention of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor on espionage charges - widely viewed as retaliation for the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the U.S. In Canada, there's a similar divide between politicians and the national Olympic committee. USOPC president Susanne Lyons argued today that "they've been shown to negatively impact athletes while not effectively addressing global issues," and added that athletes should not be used as "political pawns." Olympic and Paralympic Committee remains fiercely opposed to boycotts. ![]() Senator Ted Cruz, for whatever this is worth, tweeted recently that instead of boycotting "we should go to Beijing and kick their commie asses." Opinion remains split, though, even within the party. Recently, a few Republican Congressmen formally called for the IOC to move the Beijing Games or, failing that, for the U.S. ![]() Many Republicans are on board with this, as criticizing China has become something of a pet project in that party. With the International Olympic Committee refusing to move the Beijing Games, which open in less than 10 months, human-rights activists are calling for national Olympic committees, athletes and sponsors to pull out in protest of China's actions against Uighurs, Tibetans and residents of Hong Kong. ![]() State Department raised the temperature when he indicated that the Biden administration hasn't ruled out supporting a boycott as a means of protesting China's rights abuses. Meanwhile, another cloud hangs over the Olympic "movement." Calls to boycott the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing are not going away, and the heat on this simmering debate keeps getting turned up on a semi-regular basis. But expect a more muted marking of the milestone this time as countries around the world experience another spike in COVID-19 cases and Olympic organizers try to deal with the extra challenges that presents. Next Thursday is exactly 100 days from the official opening of the Tokyo Olympics. Stay up to speed on what's happening in sports by subscribing here. This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, which is CBC Sports' daily email newsletter. ![]()
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