The Minister of International Development, Harjit S. Sajjan, will travel to Qatar to encourage the Canadian team there on the occasion of the World Cup, despite the call for a diplomatic boycott launched by the Bloc Québécois and the NDP.
The one who also holds the position of minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency Canada will be in the small emirate from November 21 to 23, 2022.
He will then be accompanied by the MP for Cumberland-Colchester, Stephen Ellis, his cabinet announced on Sunday.
In addition to attending Canada’s home opener against Belgium, Harjit S. Sajjan will participate in a trilateral sports diplomacy event with US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard.
Remember that Canada, the United States and Mexico will jointly host the next FIFA World Cup in 2026. Vancouver and Toronto have been selected as host cities to host matches during this event.
Harjit S. Sajjan will also meet, in Qatar, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, to “discuss common priorities, including humanitarian aid and international development”, said his cabinet.
This news risks displeasing the Bloc Québécois and the NDP, who had called for a diplomatic boycott of the event, as Canada had done for the last Olympic Games in Beijing, given the fact that human rights, in particularly those of members of the LGTBQ+ community, are flouted in the small emirate.
At the end of September, the federal Minister of Sports, Pascale St-Onge, had however left little doubt as to the intentions of her government. “Normally, as the team is qualified, and in addition, we are the host country for the next World Cup with the United States and Mexico, we will certainly have a presence,” she explained.
The Qatar World Cup is held from November 20 to December 18.
With Melanie Marquis, The Press