Safety of Olympic Athletes | Minister St-Onge predicts that everything will be fine in Beijing

(Ottawa) Just over a week before the opening of the Beijing Olympics, the Minister of Sports, Pascale St-Onge, does not want to “minimize” the fears of some about the safety of the athletes, but she is not worried. “I am especially proud,” she said, saying that the “plan is solid” and that Ottawa has “sent its message” to Beijing.

Melanie Marquis
The Press

On February 4, a coalition of organizations plan to gather in front of the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa for the opening ceremony of the “Genocide Games”. A “flame of freedom” will be lit there, and a medal will be awarded remotely to President Xi Jinping for his “regime’s records” in the violation of human rights.

“These Games should not have taken place, but hey, they are taking place,” says the spokesperson for the ceremony, Phil Kretzmar, co-founder of Stop Uyghur Genocide Canada. The choice of China as host country has also been sharply criticized, in particular by Jean-Luc Brassard, gold medalist at the Lillehammer Winter Games in 1994.

These recriminations, Pascale St-Onge understands them.

The affront was badly received at the Chinese Embassy, ​​where Canada was accused of having made a choice “based on ideological prejudices and lies” in order to “disrupt the smooth running of the Games”. China had to readjust as the Olympics kicked off as overly sensitive COVID-19 tests sparked concern.

“We are very satisfied that the standards have been changed,” said Minister St-Onge, who does not expect Canadian athletes to have targets behind their backs because of the acrimonious relations between Canada and China. First, other countries have declared a diplomatic boycott, then the safety of the athletes is in the interest of the host country, she notes.

The government has worked with the Canadian Olympic Committee to put in place a satisfactory security system. No question of revealing the details, but the minister assures that everyone has “open eyes”, that “the plan is solid” and that the athletes will be able to concentrate on the competitions.

Beijing Warning

Nevertheless, last Wednesday, a senior official of the organizing committee of the Beijing Games, Yang Shu, left the threat of “certain sanctions” hanging over any athlete whose “behaviour or speech” would go “against the Olympic spirit, and in particular of the laws and rules of China”.

Have Canadian athletes been asked to keep a low profile while in the Chinese capital? On the phone, Pascale St-Onge reports that the athletes know the rules of the game.

Many are not on their first visit to China, and moreover, during the Games, it is the Olympic Charter – whose article 50 prohibits any “kind of demonstration or political propaganda” – which is queen.

“They have all the information in hand so that the competitions go well, and that they can concentrate on their performance, notes the minister. We talk a lot about the whole situation [politique], and this is important, but they are really in their preparation bubble. »

The rules of the Olympic Charter were relaxed last July. Participants can now discuss political issues with the media or on social networks. However, it remains forbidden to demonstrate during the events, on the podiums, during hymns or in the Olympic Village, or to “target specific people, countries, organizations and touch people in their dignity”.

A balm in times of pandemic

Minister Pascale St-Onge, a political rookie elected for the first time in September 2021, says she feels more pride than concern when she considers the two weeks of Olympic events to be held in Beijing from February 4 to 20 next. She argues that the event is timely.

“With the pandemic, we need as a people to have moments of celebration and to be able to rally. We can remember how much the Tokyo Summer Games brought the country together, just like the accession of the Canadian [de Montréal] to the Stanley Cup Final. Sport has that power too, ”she argues.

Predictions? The Minister does not want to advance on the harvest of medals. But she allows herself to recall that during the last Games, Canadian female athletes were particularly prolific. “I can’t wait to see how our women’s delegation will perform,” she concludes.