A report says that documents obtained under the Access to Information act show that Canadian diplomats, especially those stationed in Beijing, were asked to provide “private intelligence” on the Olympic bids of cities competing with Toronto for the 2008 Summer Games.
In a May 26, 2000 e-mail sent to diplomats in Beijing, Osaka, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Cairo, Ankara, Madrid, Paris, Havana and Sydney by David Adam, the special ambassador for Toronto’s bid, it says “the Toronto Bid committee is interested in receiving private or public intelligence related to the 2008 Olympic Games competition”.
Foreign Affairs also prepared “talking points” for politicians who accompanied Prime Minister Jean Chretien on an official visit to China last February, says the report. “The Chinese media may ask you to comment on Beijing’s candidacy”, the briefing paper says. “It would be to the detriment of Toronto’s bid if you were to say anything positive about Beijing. Yet, in the circumstances, you cannot say anything negative”.
Maybe the politicial intervention is paying off. In a recent BBC poll, respondents were asked the question, “where should the 2008 Olympics be held?” Of the three frontrunners, Beijing received 20.04 per cent of the votes, Paris had 24.76 per cent and Toronto was first with 46.92 per cent of the votes.
