OTTAWA -- Canada has not discussed boycotting the Beijing Olympics nor does it plan to do so, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.

"There has been no cabinet discussion of this. No cabinet discussion is planned. I don't anticipate any kind of boycott of the Games themselves," Harper told a news conference in Ottawa.

Harper said he does not expect any other countries will stay away from the Summer Games.

"Experience would suggest that such boycotts are generally not effective and really in the end only harm the athletes involved who have trained for so many years to compete in these events. So I don't see either in this country or internationally a push for that," he said.

Harper reiterated that Ottawa will send a high-level delegation to the opening ceremony in Beijing.