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Two Canadian ministers say the decision to let Russia back into the ice hockey world championships came as a disappointment on Friday, as the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine stretches toward its fifth year.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said the Canadian government is still assessing the ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but said she was “not comfortable” with potentially allowing a Russian team to attend this year’s World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Alberta.
“Make no mistake, this is a very unwelcome decision given the geopolitical situation, given the actions of Russia,” Anand told CBC’s Power & Politics. “All options are on the table and I will say, again, I greet this decision with great disappointment.”
On the margins of the Canada-EU summit, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada wants to be the bloc’s first ‘associate member.’ Power & Politics spoke to Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand.
The CAS cleared the path on Friday for Russia to return to the ice hockey world championships, overturning an exclusion in place since the country invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
Hockey Canada echoed Anand’s disappointment, as did Canada’s Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden.
“Canada maintains, as it has since 2022, that Russia should not be represented in international sport competitions while Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable full-scale invasion against Ukraine continues,” van Koeverden wrote in his own statement.
The court’s ruling overturned International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) decisions, which had banned Russia and Belarus from international tournaments since Feb. 28, 2022. The federation, while disappointed with the decision, said on Friday it would “act in accordance” with the ruling.
This year’s world juniors are scheduled for Dec. 26, 2026, to Jan. 5, 2027, in Alberta in Red Deer and Edmonton.
Ministers boycott group photo with Russian counterpart at G20
Also on Friday, the United States cancelled a traditional group photo the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Atlanta after several European officials threatened to boycott the picture over the inclusion of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
In her interview, Anand said she was going to miss the picture because she was on a flight to the Canada–EU summit in Montreal, but, had she been there, she said she would’ve joined her fellow ministers in skipping the picture in protest.
“It is not my preference at all to be in a picture with Sergey Lavrov,” she said.
Speaking on the issue of hockey in Atlanta, Anand told reporters Canada would “continue to maintain our own restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes at events hosted in Canada that receive federal funding.”
The federal government had not yet committed any money to the 2027 world junior tournament, according to Hockey Canada.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, centre, attends the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Atlanta on Friday. (Megan Varner/Pool/The Associated Press)
Anand said she sat directly across from Lavrov during the meetings in Atlanta, looked the Russian minister “straight in the eye” and told him Russian’s ongoing attacks in Ukraine are “absolutely reprehensible and contrary to international law.”
Some G20 countries had already expressed concern at the U.S. having invited Russia to the meetings, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump drove his administration’s relationship with Ukraine to deeper lows by waiving fresh sanctions on Moscow and temporarily limiting logistical and intelligence assistance.
The Canadian government has expressed solidarity with Ukraine from the outset and the two countries declared a 100-year partnership last month.
Source: www.cbc.ca
