🎙Comment (full text) by Ambassador Stepanov to The Canadian Press News Agency on recent Prime-Minister Mark Carney’s remarks regarding Russian and Belorussian Hockey Athletes (Ottawa, November 4, 2026) ❗️It is genuinely regrettable to see Prime Minister Carney’s Cabinet bringing politics onto the ice. Sport, particularly junior hockey, should be about athletic excellence, fair competition and bringing young people together. Of course, one cannot help admiring the remarkable convenience of this particular display of political principle. By excluding Russian and Belorussian players, the Canadian government also happens to eliminate some rather formidable competitors before the first puck is even dropped. One might almost suspect that Ottawa has discovered a novel approach to winning international tournaments. ☝️If you cannot be entirely certain of beating your strongest opponents on the ice, simply ensure they never make it to the rink. A splendid strategy, perhaps, for securing a trophy. A rather less splendid one for preserving the spirit of sport.