Pressure mounts as CFL enters second day of work stoppage
The wind blowing against the uprights was the only action at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon Monday morning as the league enters day two of the work stoppage.
Flo and Richard Coffey have been Saskatchewan Roughriders season ticket holders for the last ten years and with the pre season just a week away, they are eager to see an agreement.
“We would like to go to the game on the 23rd but we do understand where the players are coming from,” said Richard Coffey. “They (players) do need some protection.
Seven of the nine teams have cancelled training camp with Alberta labour laws preventing Edmonton and Calgary players from striking until Tuesday.
TSN CFL Insider Dave Naylor said although discussions have broken off, it does not mean the two sides are not communicating.
“I think there is a sense that there's a bit of a cooling off period needed here and it may in fact be the mediator that has been working with the two sides throughout this process, that brings them back together perhaps later this week,” said Naylor.
Naylor added there is a sense of urgency among the CFL, especially rookie players.
“Every team has 50 rookies in camp and it's hard for rookies to make a football team the shorter the camp gets because veterans know the playbook, know the coaches, and know the teammates while rookies don't,” said Naylor. “So the less time you give them to acclimatize themselves, the harder it is for them to make a team.”
Pressure is mounting on both sides to get a deal done.
“The longer this goes on, pressure builds,” said Naylor. “Pressure builds on the players, on the owners and this is basically the game or sport of the collective bargaining.”
Fans also hope an agreement happens soon so they can enjoy the sport they love
“Sooner rather than later, but they need to get something,” said Coffey. “They need to have some kind of protection as a player.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada recession: It's coming, RBC predicts, but how long will the downturn last?
Canada is headed towards a moderate recession, but the economic contraction is expected to be short-lived compared to previous recessions, economists with Royal Bank of Canada predict.

One scandal too many: British PM Boris Johnson resigns
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation Thursday amid a mass revolt by top members of his government, marking an end to three tumultuous years in power in which he brazenly bent and sometimes broke the rules of British politics.
Hospital 'nightmare' in B.C. for Quebec patient denied surgery: father
A Quebec man who fell and broke his jaw, cheekbone and a bone around his left eye while visiting British Columbia says his surgery was cancelled after he was told his home province “won't pay” for the procedure.
Canada elections commissioner reviewing information related to Conservative allegations against Brown
The Commissioner of Canada Elections' office says it has received and is reviewing information related to the allegations raised by the Conservative Party of Canada that now-disqualified leadership contender Patrick Brown's campaign violated federal election financing rules.
Here's who could replace Boris Johnson as U.K. prime minister
Boris Johnson was due to resign as Britain's prime minister on Thursday, bringing an end to a turbulent two and half years in office and triggering a search for a new leader.
Man pulled from burning car by five others on Ontario highway in 'heroic effort'
Five men are being hailed as heroes by the Ontario Provincial Police after saving a man from a burning vehicle on a Toronto-area highway earlier this week.
The next stage in the battle against COVID-19: bivalent vaccines
Several vaccine manufacturers are racing to develop formulas that take into account the more infectious Omicron variant now driving cases, while policymakers are laying the groundwork for another large-scale vaccine blitz.
Real estate agent: Many people 'desperate to sell right now'
As concerns grow that Canada's red-hot real estate market may be starting to cool, one real estate agent in Toronto says that some homeowners in the city are becoming increasingly 'desperate to sell right now.'
Some medical schools in Canada face cadaver shortage
With donations of cadavers falling, medical students may lack 'fundamental knowledge' of human anatomy, says a UBC medical professor.