More than a dozen members of the International Olympic Committee, which organizes the summer and winter Olympics, have been accused of corruption.

The Olympic Committee (IOC) says that the "Olympic Spirit" - friendly and fair competition - represents one of the the most noble parts of human nature. Now it looks some committee members did not believe it.

International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch has called a special session of the committee's 115 members for March 17th and 18th in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Mr. Samaranch called the meeting as a result of the bribery scandal surrounding Salt Lake City, Utah's winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games. It's the biggest corruption crisis in Olympic history.

The allegations are that IOC members or their relatives received cash payments, scholarships, jobs, free medical care, real estate deals, lavish gifts and other rewards from Salt Lake promoters. If true, it means that the IOC members were getting special payments in order to vote for Salt Lake City's bid to host the games.

The Olympic corruption scandal may even have ties to Canada.

The group that tried to bring the Olympics to Toronto in 1996 has always said its bid was clean. Now there appears to be some doubt. The Toronto organizers may have been trying to sway the IOC member's votes as well.

CBC News has obtained documents that suggest the Toronto Olympic Organizing Committee paid the rent for an influential IOC member and her husband while he worked in Canada .

Pirjo Haggman is a former sprinter from Finland who competed at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. She is a member of the Finnish Olympic Committee.

In 1989 Ms. Haggman's husband, Bjarne Haggman, a forester from Finland, was awarded a $42,000 contract to work for Ontario's ministry of natural resources in Sault Ste. Marie.

According to officials, then at the Ministry, the job was created for Mr. Haggman after a visit to Sault Ste. Marie from Paul Henderson. At the time he was the head of Toronto's Olympic organizing committee.

CBC News has obtained documents which show the monthly rent, $975 was paid for by the Toronto Olympic organizing committee . Just a few days before the IOC was to choose the winning city Haggman left the job.

Mr. Henderson told CBC News he did nothing wrong, that didn't arrange for Haggman to get a job. "He arranged for his own," says Mr. Henderson, "what I did was give a recommendation."

Mr. Henderson didn't deny paying the rent on the home in Sault Ste. Marie. "I'd have to check that out," he said. CBC news was unable to reach either of the Haggmans for comment. The Haggmans are now divorced.

On Tuesday Pirjo Haggman held a news conference in Helsinki. She denied allegations of wrongdoing surrounding the Salt Lake City bid. She also denied reports that her ex-husband worked for the bid committee.

In light of the Salt Lake City bribery scandal the IOC has been investigating corruption in the selection process. The head of that investigation is Canadian Dick Pound. He is a lawyer in Montreal. Next weekend he'll make the findings public.

1. What is that IOC members or their relatives received cash payments, scholarships, jobs, free medical care, real estate deals, lavish gifts and other rewards from Salt Lake promoters?