A former staffer for Premier Doug Ford wants the federal government to bar Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin from coming to Canada as a retaliatory measure against Vladimir Putin.
Laryssa Waler, now a Conservative strategist, has outlined that ask in an online petition that makes the case for the NHL player to be denied entry into the country ahead of the Capitals facing off against the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Jan. 29.
"The point of sanctions isn't to find out who is guilty of the war, the point of sanctions is to pressure and make life very uncomfortable for those who support Putin politically and financially," she said. "And so if that's the measure, and if that's what they say sanctions are for, then Ovechkin should fall within that framework."
The petition references Ovechkin’s political involvement as a supporter of Putin. In 2017, the NHL player started an advocacy group to garner support for the Russian president to ensure he would stay in power.
The Canadian government has sanctioned a number of Russian oligarchs with ties to Putin in relation to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On the Government of Canada's website, the number is 1,122.
In late December, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress wrote to the prime minister, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser requesting that Ovechkin be denied a visa. It notes that the pro hockey player campaigned for Putin in the fraudulent 2018 election.
"Ovechkin continues to support Putin as 'his president' even in the face of Russia's genocidal war in Ukraine," the letter states.
iPolitics reached out to the UCC to ask whether it had received an answer from the federal government. The organization has not responded to the request.
Waler said she can appreciate that going after a public figure is a difficult thing to do — it's going to send a strong message.
"The hearts and minds of Russians are with Putin in this war because they believe the garbage his government puts out, and they believe it because people like Ovechkin are the guys saying it," she said. "So it, you know, it matters very, very, very much (to) Putin (that he) has people like Ovechkin backing him."
Joly's office has also not yet responded to iPolitics about whether there would be any plan to consider or act on the petition.
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