Question Period Note: Inclusion of the Haudenosaunee Lacrosse Team in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games

Lacrosse is a new addition to the sports program for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Team (Haudenosaunee Nationals) has been advocating to be included as a competitor at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The United States Government is issuing a statement in the coming days advocating for the inclusion of the Haudenosaunee Nationals.

• The Government of Canada respects the authority of the International Olympic Committee and World Lacrosse over the lacrosse program at the Olympic Games.
• We recognize the important contributions of the Haudenosaunee to the sport landscape in Canada through their invention of the sport of lacrosse, Canada’s national summer sport.
• The Government of Canada is committed to upholding Indigenous sovereignty and advancing reconciliation.
• The Government of Canada is supportive of all parties working together to find a pathway for the Haudenosaunee Nationals to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
 

• In October 2023, lacrosse was confirmed as a new addition to the sports program for the Los Angeles Olympic Games (LA28 Games). Lacrosse is represented nationally in Canada by Lacrosse Canada and internationally by World Lacrosse.
• As per the Olympic Charter, governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), all sports included in the Olympic program must be governed by International Federations. Additionally, each country must have a recognized and sanctioned National Olympic Committee (NOC) that is responsible for team selection to compete at the Games.
• Despite not meeting this criterion, the Haudenosaunee Nationals have requested to be included in the lacrosse tournament in the LA28 Games. The Haudenosaunee Nationals are recognized by World Lacrosse.
• The IOC may be reluctant to admit a team below “country level” on the basis it could be precedent-setting (IOC only allows country-level teams) and may respond to the Haudenosaunee that they should join a country-level team rather than request fielding their own team.
• The only precedent that the IOC has made in the past is the creation of the IOC Refugee Team which competed in the Rio 2016 and the Tokyo 2020 Games.
• The United States Government has indicated they will support Haudenosaunee’s bid as a sui generis situation, encouraging the IOC to make an exception to the “country-level” basis for teams as a “one-off.” and suggesting that the exception would be justified by the Haudenosaunee’s invention of the sport and its importance in their culture.

None