The NHL labour dispute moves to Ahuntsic Friday for an administrative tribunal.
Union argues a lockout by the NHL would be a violation of Quebec’s labour code
The labour dispute between the NHL and its players moves to an unusual venue on Friday morning — an administrative tribunal in Ahuntsic.
An emergency hearing is scheduled at the Commission des relations du travail over a bid to try to prevent the National Hockey League and the Montreal Canadiens hockey club from imposing a lockout on the team’s players.
A lockout would be an “obvious violation” of the province’s labour code, says the application filed by the NHL Players’ Association and 16 players from the Canadiens with Quebec’s labour relations board.
Their position is that an employer in Quebec can’t lock out employees unless they belong to a union that is certified by the province’s labour relations board. And that isn’t the case for the NHLPA, which notes it isn’t a certified union in Quebec.
The NHL players’ collective bargaining agreement expires on Saturday at 11:59 p.m. The application before Quebec’s l abour relations board asks that the case be heard and a decision rendered before Saturday.
The Canadiens players listed as applicants include Erik Cole, Josh Gorges, Andrei Markov, Carey Price and Travis Moen. While hockeysavvy Quebecers wouldn’t need further clarification, it also spells out what they do for a living and the name of their employer.
Gilles Touchette, a partner with Norton Rose Group in Montreal who has always represented management as a labour lawyer, called the NHLPA’s bid a long shot.
Touchette contends the NHLPA couldn’t become a certified union in Quebec. He noted that several years ago, British Columbia’s Labour Relations Board rejected its attempt to represent the Vancouver Canucks’ players as a provincially certified union.
“That’s why it becomes an exercise that’s perhaps imaginative and creative,” Touchette said.
It’s completely contrary to the spirit of the labour code, he said, which is to ensure that an employer doesn’t lock out its employees who could otherwise be certified.
If Quebec’s labour relations board rules in the players’ favour, Touchette maintains that the Canadiens wouldn’t have to pay its players. Each player has an individual contract of employment with the team and under that contract they are to be paid only at the first game of the regular season, said Touchette, who is interested in the case but not involved in it.
“And there’s absolutely no obligation for the NHL to have a regular season,” he said.
An NHLPA spokesman said no Canadiens players are expected to attend Friday’s hearing.
A scheduled Tuesday mor- ning hearing with the Alberta Labour Relations Board ended up being cancelled Monday night. The NHL Players’ Association was to argue that locking out members of the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames would be unlawful.
The NHL withdrew its claim with the labour board, but deputy commissioner Bill Daly said he felt the league still had the legal authority to impose a lockout in Alberta
The union disagreed, with general counsel Don Zavelo saying in a statement that he felt it would not be permitted.
Under Alberta law, a mediator must be appointed before an employer imposes a lockout. The NHLPA objected to the NHL’s right to do so on the grounds it failed to take proper steps during the process and showed no willingness to work with the mediator.
According to Donald Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director, the NHL then withdrew its request.