The Globe and Mail - 13.11.2019

Sports

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Ms. Walker declined to comment
but said on Tuesday in an Insta-
gram post: “I was shocked and
devastated to hear about these
results. I do not use illicit drugs,
ever.”
She continued: “My Canadian
teammates, my team in the barn,
our horses and I, have all put a
lifetime of effort toward an
Olympic goal and I would never
do anything to jeopardize that
for my teammates or for myself.”
The stakes are high for the
team, as the positive doping test
and a cancelled trip to the Tokyo
Games would mean cuts in fund-
ing from the Canadian Olympic
Committee and the potential loss
of corporate sponsors.
Ms. Walker is royalty in horse
circles. She went into the Pan
Ams as reigning Canadian show-
jumping champion. She is also
the daughter of Don Walker,
chief executive officer of auto-
parts maker Magna International
Inc., and his former wife Ms. Stro-
nach, both of whom made sup-
portive statements on Tuesday.
Ms. Stronach runs a global horse-
racing business built by her fa-
ther, Frank Stronach, a promi-
nent racehorse owner and Mag-
na’s billionaire founder.
According to multiple people
in the equestrian community,
Ms. Walker is a hard-working and
grounded athlete who does not
use recreational drugs.
“Nikki is focused, dedicated
and has enormous integrity,” Mr.
Laskin said in an interview on
Tuesday. He said the entire squad
has supported Ms. Walker since
she informed them of the posi-
tive test earlier this fall. “Nikki
would never knowingly do any-
thing to jeopardize her career or
the team,” Mr. Laskin said.
The FEI said on Tuesday that
Ms. Walker exercised her right to
request an appeal hearing before
the Panam Sports disciplinary
commission. “Once the disciplin-
ary commission has made a deci-
sion on the disqualification of
the athlete, and Team Canada’s
final placing, the FEI will be in a
position to make any necessary
reallocation of the Olympic quo-
ta place,” the Swiss body said.
Teammates are rallying to Ms.
Walker’s side and accept her ex-
planation for the failed drug test.
“I am a very big fan of Nikki

Walker. She is a very serious and

highly disciplined equestrian rid-

er,” said equestrian veteran Ian

Millar, who has represented Can-

ada in a record 10 Olympic

Games.

“She has represented Canada

with honour and distinction.

There is zero, and I mean zero,

chance of Nikki ever putting her-

self or her teammates in harm’s

way,” he said.

In Lima, Ms. Walker placed

fourth among 50 Pan Am riders,

the best individual performance

on a veteran Canadian jumping

team and critical to carrying the

entire squad to next summer’s

Olympics.

Over the years, Canadian

equestrians have won five Olym-

pic medals for jumping. The To-

kyo Games could potentially be

an emotional experience for the

group, as three-time medallist

Eric Lamaze is hoping to com-

pete as an individual athlete after

announcing this past summer

that he is dealing with a brain tu-

mour.

Prior to the Lima Games, Can-

ada’s athletes were warned that

they are responsible for every-

thing they ingest. Inadvertently

breaking the rules has cost Cana-

dian athletes in the past. Rower

Silken Laumann and three team-

mates lost their Pan Am gold

medals in 1995 after Ms. Lau-

mann turned in a positive drug

test from taking an over-the-

counter cold medication.

In late September, Panam

Sports said in a news release that

15 athletes tested positive for a

banned substance. The body has

already disqualified seven of the

athletes for doping at the Games

• three were stripped of gold
  medals – while athletes, includ-
  ing Ms. Walker, appealed the oth-
  er eight tests.
  The appeals are expected to be
  resolved by the end of Novem-
  ber.
  “Nikki is an outstanding team
  member and I am more than cer-
  tain there is another explanation
  for this positive test,” said Mr.
  Laskin, but he added it is unclear

how a positive test result that

came from drinking coca tea

would be viewed by regulatory

bodies such as Panam Sports and

FEI.

Coca leaves are the source of

cocaine. However, the leaves can

also be boiled to make coca tea,

known in Peru asmate de coca.It

is a legal drink with a mild kick. It

is common for Peruvian hotels

and restaurants to serve a cup of

mate de cocato tourists to combat

jet lag and altitude sickness.

Medical studies show drinking

one cup of coca tea can result in a

positive drug test for up to 24

hours.

For athletes, there’s precedent

of positive drug tests from coca

tea. In 2005, for example, the

Jockey Club in Britain commis-

sioned a study of the beverage af-

ter several jockeys tested positive

for cocaine and claimed it was a

result of drinking coca tea.

There were three other ath-

letes on the Canadian Pan Am

jumping team – Erynn Ballard

from Ontario, Alberta-based Lisa

Carlsen and Mario Deslauriers

from Quebec. Ms. Carlsen and

Mr. Deslauriers, both 54, compet-

ed in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul,

and Mr. Deslauriers also rode in

the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Ms.

Ballard, 38, has not competed at

the Olympics. She also had a

strong showing in Lima.

Mr. Deslauriers said in a news

release that Ms. Walker “is a great

teammate – organized, profes-

sional, hard-working and always

ready to help out. She is an out-

standing ambassador for our

sport.”

He added: “I believe 100 per

cent there is another explanation

for these test results.”

Ms. Walker and her horse were

the country’s featured jumpers

going into the Pan Am Games.

“Wearing the red jacket brings

added pressure, but it is an in-

credible feeling to have a whole

nation behind you,” Ms. Walker

said in a news release this sum-

mer.

Ms. Walker delivered in Lima.

Her fourth-place finish was just

short of bronze – she finished be-

hind an American athlete by less

than a two-second margin in a

four-rider “jump off” for the final

medal. Brazil’s jumping team

won gold, while Mexico took sil-

ver and the United States went

home with bronze.

NicoleWalkercompetesduringthe2019PanAmericanGamesinLimaonAug.7.Ms.Walkerhasbeen
provisionallysuspendedfromcompetingonCanada’sshow-jumpingteaminthe2020Olympicsaftertesting
positiveforabannedsubstance.RAULSIFUENTES/GETTYIMAGESFORFEI

Walker:CancelledtriptoOlympics

wouldleadtocutstoteam’sfunding

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The Americans and Australians say Huawei answers to Chi-

na’s ruling Communist Party and could be compelled to help

Beijing spy or sabotage Western networks. Chinese law says

companies must “support, co-operate with and collaborate

in national intelligence work” when asked.

A Canadian cabinet decision on Huawei is unlikely until

2020, the official told The Globe and Mail, citing increasingly

strained relations with China as well as the difference of opin-

ion between the intelligence services.

Over the past decade, Canadian wireless companies have

added Huawei gear to their cellular networks. The equipment

is on the periphery, or the edge of the system, of radio access

networks, which can be found in cell towers. It is not in the

core of any network, in keeping with a directive to carriers

from thegovernment that was formalized around 2014. This

was a decision for security reasons.

The official said the federal cabinet has several options:

maintaining the status quo, the status quo plus tougher

checks on Huawei’s 5G wireless systems, or an outright ban.

Intelligence and cybersecurity officials in the United States

and Australia are adamant that allowing Huawei anywhere in

the network is an unacceptable security vulnerability. Wash-

ington has threatened to scale back sharing of highly classi-

fied intelligence with allies that allow Huawei into their 5G

networks.

The official said the first two options would provide in-

creasing oversight to satisfy the United States while allowing

Huawei a continued presence in Canada.

A ban could saddle Canadian wireless carriers with hun-

dreds of millions of dollars in extra costs and upgrades, the

official said. Bell Canada and Telus Communications, which

use Huawei extensively in their existing networks, would

have to remove and replace gear to accommodate a different

supplier’s equipment. Bell and Telus plan to use Huawei gear

in their 5G networks, while rival Rogers will get equipment

from Sweden’s Ericsson.

The United States, Australia and New Zealand – who, along

with Canada and Britain form the Five Eyes intelligence-shar-

ing alliance – have blocked wireless carriers from installing 5G

mobile technology from Huawei. Britain also has yet to de-

cide.

Scott Bardsley, manager of media relations in the office of

the Public Safety Minister, would not comment on the review

or when the new Liberal cabinet,

which will be sworn in on Nov. 20,

will decide.

“An examination of emerging

5G technology and the associated

security and economic considera-

tions is under way,” Mr. Bardsley

said. “This review includes the

careful consideration of our allies’

advice. We will ensure that our

networks are kept secure and will

take the appropriate decisions in due course.”

Canada has testing facilities in which labs funded by Hua-

wei but staffed by independent experts test the Chinese com-

pany’s equipment and software to prevent security breaches.

Britain has similar facilities.

Huawei is not permitted to bidon federal government con-

tracts or provide equipment, such as routers and switches, for

the core network of Canada’s telecoms – nor are Huawei tech-

nicians allowed to manage the servicing of its equipment

from offshore.

The new 5G wireless technology will require many more

small cell sites – smaller versions of cell towers – to provide a

dense web of coverage to deliver faster downloads and almost

no lag time.

It’s not clear limiting the use of Huawei gear to non-core

areas would work in 5G networks.

Senior intelligence agency officials in the United States and

Australia have long warned that because 5G technology dif-

fers from previous generations, it is impossible to fence off

parts of the network.

U.S. cybersecurity official Robert Strayer says 5G brings

processing power much closer to users, but this means all of

the network has to be protected equally. “You cannot miti-

gate the risk of untrustworthy vendors in 5G networks by

placing them in the ‘edge’ because there is no distinction be-

tween the edge and the core,” Mr. Strayer wrote on a U.S. gov-

ernment website set up for smart phone users.

Richard Fadden, a former CSIS director who was national

security adviser to two prime ministers, said he is not sur-

prised CSIS and CSE are at odds over Huawei.

“CSE is supposed to have a technical mandate ... and they

have formed the view that it’s possible to have Huawei be giv-

en some access without endangering national security from a

technical perspective,” he said.

“CSIS, I think, has been given a somewhat broader man-

date, which is supposed to take into account technical issues,

but also the broader issue of what might happen in the long

term,” he said.

“So I happen to think CSIS is correct in this instance, if what

you are telling me is in fact the case,” he said of the informa-

tion that CSIS and CSE are at loggerheads.

A recent study of Huawei found its devices and equipment

have security vulnerabilities that could be used to gain access.

“The results of the analysis show that Huawei devices

quantitatively pose a high risk to their users,” the report said.

“Huawei devices were found to be less secure than those from

other vendors making similar devices,” said Finite State, a cy-

bersecurity firm based in Ohio.

Huawei:Alliesclaimtech

couldbesecuritythreat

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Canadianwireless

carrierswith

hundredsofmillions

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