SIDELINES : Canadian Sports Minister Quits

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said today he has accepted the resignation of Sports Minister Jean Charest, who is embroiled in a controversy over whether he tried to influence a judge in a case involving a Canadian athlete.

“He offered to submit his resignation and I accepted it,” Mulroney told the House of Commons.

Judge Yvan Macerola told Quebec Superior Court Tuesday that Charest had tried to contact him before he delivered his judgment in a court case brought by a hurdler who believed he was discriminated against when he was excluded from the Canadian team at the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand.

Charest denied trying to influence the judge.