Lacrosse contract talks break down

National team participation at worlds in jeopardy

The Canadian Lacrosse Association has broken off communication with the National Lacrosse Team Players’ Association, deepening a standoff that threatens the country’s participation in the upcoming men’s field lacrosse world championship.

Canada’s lacrosse players refuse to play in international tournaments until the CLA gets them better health insurance and takes steps to re-establish its status as a charity with the Canada Revenue Agency.

CLA executive director Jane Clapham explained in an email to the NLTPA’s lawyer on Monday why the governing body was not negotiating.

“Our short term priority is to ensure we send a team to the world championships and therefore we will be dealing directly with the athletes interested in attending,” said Clapham.

The CLA’s decision to not negotiate with the players’ association has frustrated many NLTPA members.

“As a player who has been part of the national program since 2004, it’s very disappointing the way the CLA has acted through this whole negotiation process,” said Dan Dawson, a member of the board of directors of the NLTPA who has played for Canada in several field and box lacrosse world championships. “To put themselves ahead of the game is not the right thing to do.”

The conflict began when the CLA had its charitable status revoked by the Canada Revenue Agency in 2010 for issuing more than $60.7 million in donation receipts for abusive transactions through tax shelters. Players that compete for Canada pay for many of their own expenses and without the charitable status, the CLA could not issue them tax receipts.