Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said she spoke to Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor about Canada’s diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today that Canada will launch a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
No federal government officials will attend the games. Canadian athletes will still be allowed to compete.
Both Spavor and Kovrig were detained in China for nearly three years before being released and returning to Canada in September.
“Obviously, things have changed since they’re back,” Joly told David Common on CBC’s Power & Politics.
Joly also noted their cases haven’t fully been resolved because, according to Chinese law, they have only been released on bail.
“We want to make sure we continue to advocate their case because there are certain issues that have not been settled yet,” she said.
The U.S., U.K. and Australia have also announced they won’t send official delegations to the games — a collective attempt to send a message to China that its human rights abuses have not gone unnoticed.
Joly said she spoke with her counterparts from all three countries before the government made the decision to join the diplomatic boycott.
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