Canada's Border Services Agency has agreed to give the International Olympic Committee the names of athletes entering the country with performance-enhancing drugs during next month's Winter Games.

But the agreement appears to fall short of the IOC's hope that Canada would stop the drugs from getting into the country.

The IOC had been talking to Ottawa for two years hoping for help to enforce the Olympic body's anti-doping policies.

But most performance-enhancing substances aren't illegal in Canada and the country's privacy laws restrict what authorities can tell Olympic officials.

Under the agreement, which runs from January 25 to March 25, the information will be shared only if the athletes or their support people have signed a waiver administered by the IOC.

AAP