Madam Speaker, in this debate, many of the comments we have heard have revolved around the relevance of the amendment moved by my colleague, the member for Lac-Saint-Jean.
The amendment calls upon the IOC to move the games, and many people wondered whether that was the right way to go about it, whether the IOC was going to agree and whether it was a good way to apply pressure. I would remind members that there have been similar cases in the past. For example, in 1968, about 40 countries in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean threatened to boycott the Olympic Games because South Africa was participating, and the IOC gave in. In 1972, some African countries threatened to boycott the games because of the presence of Rhodesia, a racist country, and the IOC gave in.
The IOC is therefore sensitive to international pressures related to human rights issues. It is very sensitive to that. I think the amendment from my Bloc Québécois colleague is really important. We can work with that. The IOC is sensitive to global human rights issues. I think this a very important amendment.
Could my colleague tell us how this kind of international pressure could be really effective? Could he talk a little bit more about that?