Court won’t hear Bruce’s concussion lawsuit against CFL
Arland Bruce III won’t be having his day in court.
The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday it won’t hear Bruce’s concussion lawsuit against the CFL and former commissioner Mark Cohon. The decision came after two B.C. courts — the Supreme Court of British Columbia and British Columbia Court of Appeal — dismissed the suit, saying the Supreme Court previously ruled unionized employees must use labour arbitration and not the courts to resolve disputes that arise from their collective agreement.
Bruce’s lawyers argued the CFL’s collective agreement is unusual because athletes individually negotiate their pay, have no longterm disability insurance plan, are excluded from occupational health and safety regulations and are not entitled to workers’ compensation.
“I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t saddened and surprised,” said Robyn Wishart, Bruce’s lawyer. “I’m surprised because I thought (Supreme Court of Canada) would hear it ... But this isn’t over.”
Wishart said she’ll take Bruce’s case to arbitration.
“We’ll file Monday and have his injuries looked at through arbitration,” she said. “That’s obviously a process that isn’t necessarily to his advantage.”
The CFL was happy.
“The CFL is very pleased with the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision,” it said in a statement. “We hope that this decision brings finality to any proceedings in the courts with respect to concussion litigation against the CFL.”
Bruce, 40, originally named neuroscientist Dr. Charles Tator, the Krembil Neuroscience Centre of Toronto, the CFL Alumni Association and its executive director, Leo Ezerins, in his suit. But action was discontinued against them as they weren’t bound by collective agreement.
Bruce played 14 seasons in the CFL (2001-2014) with Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton, B.C. and Montreal, winning Grey Cups with the Argonauts (2004) and Lions (2011). Bruce filed his lawsuit in 2014.
In court documents, Bruce says he sustained “permanent and disabling ” repetitive head trauma as a player and continues to suffer post-concussive symptoms, including depression, paranoia, delusions and other medical issues.
“Our definition of a win has always been the public needs to know,” Wishart said, “so if we look at it from the definition of what our goal was, to have people understand what’s happening, we win.
“Do we win in the world of law? Not right now. But do we win in the world of life? I can’t tell you how much we’ve changed people.”