The Canadian Olympic Committee played a key role in ending the dithering by the International Olympic Committee and the organizers of Tokyo 2020.
Team Canada’s March 22 statement that the coronavirus pandemic meant it would boycott the Olympics if they went ahead as scheduled forced the IOC two days later to cancel its planned month of study. For the first time, the Games are postponed for a year.
Jules Boykoff (Brian Lee)
“Thank goodness Canada and other countries stood up, and athletes, too, around the world, because that was the catalyst for actually postponing the Olympics,” Portland University political science professor and author Jules Boykoff tells theBreaker.news Podcast host Bob Mackin.
With a global recession inevitable, a 2020 Games suddenly became economically infeasible.
Boykoff is critical of IOC president Thomas Bach, who tried to save face, claiming the decision was solely to protect the health of athletes.
“That doesn’t ring true on any level because it’s those economic relationships that the IOC holds with the broadcasters, like NBC, but also with those corporate sponsors,” Boykoff said. That’s where more than 90% of the IOC revenue comes from.”
Listen to the full interview with Boykoff.
Plus: Richmond city council was told eight people tested positive for coronavirus in their jurisdiction. What about patient and hospitalization stats for City of Vancouver? Are B.C. health officials ignoring the latest recommendations from the World Health Organization?
Hear what Dr. Patricia Daly, the chief medical officer of Vancouver Coastal Health, said when Bob Mackin asked those questions.
Plus coronavirus headlines from the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Rim, and highlights of a surreal afternoon at the B.C. Legislature on March 23, when a dozen MLAs came together to pass a $5 billion aid package.
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