March 7, 2023, OTTAWA, ON. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) called on the International Olympic Committee to maintain its ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
In a letter to the Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Sport of Canada, UCC National President Alexandra Chyczij UCC welcomed the unequivocal position of 34 states, including Canada, that “there is no practical reason to move away from the exclusion regime for Russian and Belarusian athletes set by the IOC.”
“The Executive Board of the IOC is meeting on March 28-30. It is imperative that Canada and our allies make their positions clear as to the consequences that would follow should the IOC allow the participation in the Olympics of Russian and Belarusian athletes,” wrote Chyczij. “Should the IOC take the decision to allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Olympics, the UCC hopes that Canada will join Ukraine and other partner nations in boycotting these Games as an event that reflects neither Canada’s values nor the spirit in which international athletic competitions ought to be held.”
Chyczij’s letter to Minister St-Onge can be read here:
UCC letter to Canada’s Minister of Sport re 2024 Olympics
Renowned Canadian athletes are joining the call to ensure the banning of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Olympic Games.
Dr. Borys Chambul, two-time Canadian Olympian, who together with Team Canada boycotted the 1980 Moscow Games following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan:
Peter Stefaniuk, member of the Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame and the Ontario Volleyball Hall of Fame:
