TORONTO (CP) -- Canadian boxer Mike Strange has been charged with driving while impaired by Ontario Provincial Police.

 Strange, a member of the Canadian Olympic team, will appear in court in January of 2001 and will enter a plea of not guilty, according to a statement released Thursday by Strange's management agency True Gravity.

 The statement said Strange was charged on July 10. The agency decided to release the information because of rumours circulating in Strange's home town of Niagara Falls, Ont.

 "This is very hard. I just hope Canadians and especially the people of Niagara Falls who have stuck by me since 1992 will stick by me through this," said Strange, the Canadian champion in his weight class.

 "I just want to get this out of the way and concentrate on the task at hand, and that's to box well at the Olympics and bring some hardware back home to Canada."

 This is the third blow in three days for the Canadian Olympic team. Hammer thrower Robin Lyons of Edmonton and equestrian rider Eric Lamaze of Schomberg, Ont., have been suspended from the team because of positive drug tests.

 Strange, 30, is a three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. He will compete in his third Olympic Games in Sydney in the light welterweight (63.5 kilograms) class. He was eliminated in the quarter-finals in Atlanta in 1996.

 He is well known in Niagara Falls and is co-owner of a pub.

 "After investigating the evidence and having the opportunity to interview a number of credible witnesses that were with Mr. Strange on the evening in question, we believe he is innocent and that he will be exonerated," said Randall Barrs, Strange's lawyer.

 Strange is currently training with the Canadian team in Hawaii.