The Canadian Olympic Committee confirmed that Canada’s women’s hockey captain, Marie-Philip Poulin, was not allowed to speak French during a press conference after Team Canada’s gold-medal loss to the U.S. In a statement, Vanessa Lee, Director of Communications for the Canadian Olympic Committee, called the situation “unacceptable” and said the organization had expressed its concerns to the Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee. “Following the women’s ice hockey final on 19 February, Milano Cortina 2026 and the International Olympic Committee understand that there was an issue with interpretation at the post-game press conference,” said the International Olympic Committee. “The Milano Cortina 2026 Venue Media Manager apologized to the person concerned immediately after the press conference and did so once again yesterday. We are very sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused.” In a social media post on Friday, PQ MNA Pascal Bérubé called on the Quebec Minister of Sports, Isabelle Charest, to shed light on the “serious” incident for all Quebecers.
