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Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the government has no plans to discuss a boycott of the Beijing Olympics.

And he says he doesn't expect other countries will stay away from the Summer Games over China's policies in Tibet.

Protesters have urged a full boycott, citing China's recent violent crackdown on Tibetan protesters and its overall human-rights record.

But in his strongest statement yet on the matter, Mr. Harper suggested Tuesday it's not going to happen.

“I don't anticipate any kind of a boycott of the Games themselves. … I don't see either in this country or internationally a push for that,” he told a news conference.

“I would note that even the Dalai Lama has not called for such a boycott.

“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.”

Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Monday that he couldn't rule out a boycott, adding that the issue would be discussed. But the Prime Minister said Tuesday that no cabinet discussion is planned.

Mr. Harper and some other world leaders have already said they will not attend the opening ceremonies in Beijing on Aug. 8. Some are doing so as a protest, but Mr. Harper has said he never planned to attend the ceremonies anyway.

He repeated Tuesday that Ottawa will send a high-level delegation to the ceremonies.

Many Canadian athletes who have spent a lifetime training for the Olympics are concerned about protests disrupting their plans for the event. A number have said they would compete at the Games no matter where they're held.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has hinted he and the French team might boycott the opening ceremonies but that his country's athletes would still take part in competition.

U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown plan to attend the ceremonies, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will skip the opening.

Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee officials were considering the future of the torch relay Tuesday after anti-Chinese protests disrupted it in Paris and London.

More potential trouble was expected during Wednesday's leg through San Francisco, where three activists on Monday climbed the Golden Gate Bridge and tied the Tibetan flag and two banners to its cables. A series of demonstrations were planned before the relay Wednesday.

The torch will not travel to Canada; San Francisco is the only North American stop on its tour.

The torch is scheduled to travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a dozen other countries. It is to enter mainland China on May 4 for the host country's portion of the relay. A potential flashpoint is the scheduled relay leg through Tibet in May.