"The problem stemmed from the logic that admitting a team from South Africa was to give implicit approval for its government's attitude towards segregation and racism."

Guttman and Robert Jackson, Chairman of the Organizing Committee, worked to convince the Canadian government to honour their promises of support the teams without money to send their delegations and were largely successful.

[1] Rhodesia was not allowed to participate as the Canadian government refused to grant visas for the Rhodesian Paralympic team to attend the competition.

[2] Israeli athletes were housed in a fourth secret venue due the specific and undisclosed security concerns as the risk of a terrorist attack was real.

Shooting and goalball, both previously demonstration events, were included as official medal sports.

These were, however, to be its last Paralympics before the dismantling of apartheid; The Netherlands, as hosts of the 1980 Games, declared South Africa's further participation "undesirable".