The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) recently ordered the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to lift its suspension and reinstate Russian teams into international play, including the upcoming World Junior Championship in Alberta.
However, an international sports tribunal does not have jurisdiction over Canada's borders. The Canadian federal government retains absolute, sovereign authority over who physically enters our country.
We are calling on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), alongside the Ministers of Immigration, Sport, and Foreign Affairs, to exercise this sovereign authority and deny visitor visas and temporary entry permits to the Russian national hockey team delegation and its support staff.
Allowing a national team officially representing the Russian federation to skate, compete, and fly its flag on Canadian soil directly undermines Canada's ongoing geopolitical sanctions, sports funding policies, and our explicit national stance against the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
 
Our federal sports officials have already stated that the CAS sports ruling is unwelcome. Now, the government must back up those words with concrete policy action.
Sign this petition to demand that the Government of Canada stands firm, protects the integrity of our border policies, and blocks entry visas for the Russian national team ahead of the World Juniors.