The Canada men's national ice hockey team did not participate in the Ice Hockey World Championships or in ice hockey at the Olympic Games from 1970 to 1976. When Canada returned to international play in 1977, Larivière collaborated with Derek Holmes to recruit players for the World Championships and for ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics. In an interview with "The Globe and Mail" in advance of the 1977 Ice Hockey World Championships, Larivière said "We're gearing at those players who will not be offered the lucrative contracts. We want to enroll those players who will not make the National Hockey League until they are 24 or 25 years of age, if ever. With our alternative these players will compete for Canada in a top level brand of prestigious hockey, all the while getting their education at the college or university level. When they finished a three or four-year segment of the program they could then go to professional hockey, benefitting from what we had to offer". He envisioned the program continuing beyond 1980, and cited the need for an elite ice hockey training program staying together for three to four years. In February 1978, he announced funding plans to create a permanent national team similar to previous efforts by Father Bauer in the 1960s. The multi-year plan would receive C$200,000 of the needed $900,000 from the Government of Canada to train and school 50 athletes.