The Alberta Labour Relations Board has ruled in favor of the NHL and against the NHLPA on Wednesday, stating that the league’s lockout is lawful in Alberta, according to an ALRB release.
NHL lockout 2012: Alberta Labour Relations Board rules in favor of league
The NHLPA had filed with the Alberta board under the claim that the lockout of players with the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers violated Alberta labor laws, and that the players should be allowed to use team facilities and equipment. The NHL, meanwhile, claimed that the Relations Board has no jurisdiction to regulate between the league and the teams in Alberta and should not be allowed to intervene in the lockout.
The Board ruled in favor of the league, stating that the NHL and NHLPA never established which jurisdiction’s laws apply to teams in Canada and that -- since both sides have mostly relied on US legislation -- the board decided it could not intervene in this case.
The NHL’s deputy commissioner praised the decision in a released statement Wednesday afternoon.
"We are pleased with the Alberta Labour Board's ruling today that the lockout of Players is effective on a League-wide basis, including in Alberta, and we are extremely appreciative of the decisive manner in which the matter was handled.
“We are hopeful that this ruling will enable both the League and the NHL Players’ Association to focus all of our efforts and energies on negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in order to get our game and our Players back on the ice.”
This is the second failed attempt by the NHLPA to use Canadian jurisdiction to block the lockout. The union had previously filed in Quebec.
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