Actions of Canadian Hockey League have brought game to 'new low,' says players' union

The World Association of Ice Hockey Players Union has sent a letter to the International Ice Hockey Federation, the International Olympic Committee and the UN's International Labour Organization asking for sanctions against the Canadian Hockey League, pushing for proper compensation for players.

A class action filed against the Canadian Hockey League has been certified in both Ontario and Alberta, but Randy Gumbley, the Canadian director of the World Association of Ice Hockey Players Union, says the league is stalling while players are going unpaid.

"We think that the International Ice Hockey Federation and their membership should know what's going on on this side of the world and should take action to prevent these wage violations," Gumbley told Rick Cluff, host of CBC's The Early Edition.

"It's a league that generates, consistently, $300 million a year in revenue," he said of the CHL.

"It's a league that's profiting off the backs of these players but no one's getting paid."

The letter states that the CHL has been profiting off players while disobeying labour laws in Canada. It points to previous court rulings that found that players in the league are employees.

There are 60 teams in the league and, according to Gumbley, they were all paid something prior to the lawsuit being filed, but are now only reimbursed for expenses.

"Previous to that, they were paid, the league called it a stipend, the Canadian government called it salary. It varied from $35 a week, in Quebec it was $600 a week," Gumbley explained.

"So basically these players right now, they're working 40 to 50 hours a week with their travel time and and their workout schedule and they actually get a zero wage."

Call for intervention

Gumbley believes that the international community isn't aware of the issues facing players, partly because it has been underreported.

"The league is going to continue to delay it out and to try and get these players to die on the vine but they're not going anywhere," Gumbley said.

"The actions that have been taken by the teams and the conduct, specifically in the civil proceeding ... we feel has brought the game to a new low in Canada."

Gumbley says the IIHF has tools to sanction teams and he hopes by sending the letter, something will be done, rather than drawing out a lengthy court battle.

"In this case here, if the IIHF did know about it and failed to act upon it, for us, that's a very egregious act because there's a clear violation of the ethics code." 

With files from The Early Edition and Jeremy Allingham