Ramsay: CFL, CFLPA not where they need to be in collective bargaining talks
TORONTO — The CFL faces a partial strike at the start of training camp, then a full-blown work stoppage shortly afterwards.
Brian Ramsay, the executive director of the CFL Players’ Association, said Thursday if a new collective bargaining agreement isn’t reached by May 18, players with the B.C. Lions, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Montreal Alouettes won’t report to the start of their respective training camps the following day. That’s because they’ll be in a legal strike position and have been instructed by the union not to show up.
Ramsay said players on CFL teams in Alberta (Edmonton and Calgary) and Ontario (Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton) won’t be in a legal strike position until May 23. They’ve been instructed to report to the start of training camp but could legally walk out four days later.
“There will some teams that will have to follow slightly different provincial labour laws,” Ramsay said during a conference call. “We’re trying to get a deal and those four provinces that will be in a legal position, then we will be on strike and they won’t show up for camp.