We would like to raise an issue of importance to our organization and the broader Ukrainian Canadian community. As you are probably aware, the second report prepared by Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and issued on December 9, 2016 provided plenty of evidence of a sophisticated doping scheme sponsored and orchestrated by Russia’s Sports Ministry, its national anti-doping agency, and its FSB intelligence service. The scheme included switching and changing urine samples by opening “tamper-proof” bottles and using numerous other methods to bypass and cover up drug tests, which gave Russian athletes an unfair advantage over their counterparts from other countries over the course of five years. It is a historic fact that authoritative regimes place a big importance on the success of its athletes on the international arena. Russia under Vladimir Putin’s rule is no exception. However, this culture of organized cheating on the highest level is unacceptable in sports as it undermines the trust in the system of fair athletes, their coaches, national federations and millions of spectators around the world.
According to McLaren’s second report, more than 1,000 Russian athletes competing in Summer, Winter and Paralympic sports could be identified as being involved in or benefiting from tampering to conceal positive tests. As a former athlete who won three Paralympic and four World Championship medals for Canada, you must certainly share the view that fairness is one of the most fundamental pillars of sports. Every athlete representing his or her country should be assured of the equality of treatment. When other athletes are consciously gaining advantage because of the prohibited drugs they take, it defeats the purpose of fair competitiveness.
We welcome the findings of McLaren’s second report and sincerely hope that all necessary steps will be taken by the International Olympic Committee, as well as National Olympic Committees, to ensure that the poisonous culture of cheating in sports is contained and all steps are taken to prevent state-sponsored doping schemes. Our athletes take pride in representing Canada fairly by complying with all the international norms, including those set out by WADA. We appeal to you, Minister, to condemn state-sponsored doping schemes in Russia and elsewhere, and not allow doping schemes to metastasize in Canada.
