The new U.S. envoy to Canada David Cohen says the U.S. and its allies will be prepared to respond to any future Chinese retaliation to the recently announced diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games.
In a broadcast exclusive on CTV News Channel’s Power Play with Evan Solomon on Thursday, Cohen said no matter the issue, both countries are better served when they’re aligned in their response, the boycott being the latest example of that.
“I wouldn’t expect anything different from China than to threaten retaliation. I don’t want to put myself in a position of trying to predict what a player like Beijing might do in response to what the United States and Canada have done, and now joined by many other countries, but we’ll be prepared to deal with it,” he said.
The U.S. announced on Monday it would choose not to send government officials to Beijing to protest reported human rights abuses of the Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang province.
Athletes will still attend.
Canada, the U.K., and Australia have since followed suit.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that the government remains “extremely concerned” by human rights violations conducted by the Chinese government.
“That is why we are announcing today that we will not be sending any diplomatic representation to the Beijing Olympic, Paralympic Games this winter,” Trudeau said.
“Our athletes have been training for years and are looking forward to compete at the highest level against athletes from around the world. They will continue to have all of our fullest support.”
Cohen said he predicts more countries will sign on to the boycott pact, as it’s created a “permission structure” for other democratic countries to take action without jeopardizing the fate of athletes.
“It enables the athletes to go forward, the Olympic Games to go forward, but for Beijing not to enjoy the unfettered glory of hosting the Olympics,” he said.
Typically, for Olympic and Paralympic Games, dignitaries such as the head of state, the head of government, the sport minister and the minister responsible for persons with disabilities would typically be invited to attend, a Heritage Canada official told CTVNews.ca in an email.
Many former diplomats and international security analysts have suggested Canada should go further and enforce a full boycott, withdrawing all Canadian presence, including athletes.
China has come out and accused the U.S. of violating the Olympic spirit and attempting to interfere with the Games “out of ideological prejudice and based on lies and rumors,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters on Tuesday.
The boycott “seriously violates the principle of political neutrality of sports established by the Olympic Charter and runs counter to the Olympic motto `more united,”‘ Zhao said.
On Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin dismissed the decision by Canada and others to follow Washington’s lead as a “farce.”
In February, MPs in the House of Commons voted to label China’s treatment of the Uyghur Muslims a genocide, and to call on the federal government to formally adopt that position.
Trudeau did not participate in the vote. Then-foreign affairs minister Marc Garneau abstained on the record while the rest of his cabinet colleagues were absent.
Making these decisions more calculated is the looming question of whether Canada will formally ban China’s Huawei Technologies from providing equipment for the rollout of its 5G network as the U.S. and other allies have done.
Asked whether Canada should once and for all prohibit the use of the technology, Cohen said he respects that Canada is its own sovereign nation and makes its decision accordingly.
“I can state the fact that United States has governmentally banned the use of Huawei equipment in 5G and other critical infrastructure networks in the United States and that decision was made on the basis that the United States believes that Huawei technology in those networks did pose a threat to national security,” he said.
“The prime minister has been quite clear it’s a matter of active consideration in Canada…I want to respect our partnership and I wasn’t to respect the sovereignty of Canada.”
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
