(Trois-Rivières) An agreement in principle has been reached between the players of the Canadian Football League and the team owners. But is the strike in the Ambrosie circuit over for all that?
Posted at 7:48 p.m.
Although the players returned to practice Thursday after a four-day strike, the deal has not been officially ratified by either side. The players must vote within the next 48 hours, but at the Montreal Alouettes, the players met at the Cégep de Trois-Rivières stadium, where the club’s camp has officially started, were not convinced that they got a very good deal.
“I won’t lie to you, I’m not 100% satisfied with this agreement,” said linebacker Chris Ackie, one of the Montreal football club’s two union representatives. I think we give a lot of important things for the CFL, like the ratio. We will have to resume training in full equipment, but our insurance coverage has not been increased accordingly. I find that we increase the risk of injury: when we removed the equipment workouts, injuries dropped by 35%. It’s not the best deal possible, no. »
The other Birds representative, defensive lineman Almondo Sewell, declined to comment on the deal. But the ratio of Canadian players seems to be the most contentious point.
“It’s difficult to follow and it’s far from the agreement that I had imagined that we accepted, for his part indicated the defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy. I find it difficult to attack the ratio of Canadian players like that. […] I can’t wait to see what happens on Friday with the vote.
“I find it surprising that it was adopted by our representatives at the start. So nothing would surprise me about the outcome of Friday’s vote. For me, it’s not a matter of not playing. On the contrary: I can’t wait to be on the pitch; I am fighting for a starting position this season. So if you take me away, I have a lot to lose. But it’s for seven years that we are committed, so I find it a bit “rough”. »
Some players fear that by changing the ratio of Canadian starting players, the positions will go to “naturalized” – American or international players who have played for five years in the CFL or for three years for the same formation – in important games. Others suggested rather that it is in cases of injury to Canadian starters that the new collective agreement gives more freedom to organizations. The meetings over the next few days should shed light on all this.
Ackie would not say if he would vote in favor of the agreement in principle, but his many reservations suggest that he could oppose it. On the other hand, he insisted: he will not try to convince his teammates to do the same.
“I’m not going to recommend whether or not to accept this agreement: I can’t be biased by my opinion. We will present the terms to them and they will decide according to their will. […] If a majority of players think that’s not what they want, it’s possible. But as I said: there are several good things in this agreement. It doesn’t mean that because I don’t think it’s a good agreement that it will be the opinion of the majority of players. »
What are these good things? Improved revenue sharing and guaranteed contracts. But still there: Ackie points out that there are several aspects to consider before rejoicing.
“Guaranteed contracts may sound good, but there are several details that I dislike about these contracts,” he explained.
On the field, in fact, the Alouettes and the six other teams not located in Alberta find themselves at a competitive disadvantage, having lost four days of camp. The Elks and Stampeders, under Alberta labor laws, could not go on strike this week.
“It’s just one more step to overcome,” philosophized head coach Khari Jones. We can’t take those days back. You just have to be ready. It is the hand that was given to us. »
And he won’t be able to work hard to make up for this time either.
“Before you can run, you have to know how to walk,” he said. You have to do things the right way and take it step by step. We cannot speed things up. We have to install our stuff one step at a time. »
The Alouettes’ first intra-squad game should take place Monday evening, at the Diablos stadium in Trois-Rivières. For the moment, nothing has been changed in the preparatory schedule for the Montreal club, which is scheduled to play May 28 in Hamilton and June 3 at Percival-Molson Stadium, against the Ottawa Red and Blacks.