EDMONTON — The Alberta Labour Relations Board has decided that the NHL’s lockout of players from the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames can continue.
The board said in a written ruling released Wednesday that forcing an end to the lockout for two members of a 30-team league would be unlikely to solve the contract dispute between the National Hockey League and the players union.
“It is our expectation this is nothing more than an unhelpful distraction from their efforts,” the ruling said.
“An order declaring the lockout to be in violation of the (Alberta Labour Relations) Code would have no positive impact on this dispute.”
The National Hockey League Players’ Association had wanted the board to rule the lockout illegal in Alberta.
Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner, said the league was pleased with the ruling.
“We are hopeful that this will enable both the league and the NHL Players’ Association to focus all our efforts and energies on negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement in order to get our game and our players back on the ice,” Daly said in a statement.
A statement from the NHLPA said the union was considering its options.
“The players are obviously disappointed with today’s decision. Unfortunately, the Alberta Labour Relations Board decided not to exercise its discretion to determine whether the owners’ lockout violates Alberta law.”
The labour board held a hearing last month into the dispute.
The union had argued that the Oilers and Flames are Alberta businesses and as such must abide by provincial labour rules.
Those rules say a mediator must have 14 days to work with both sides in a contract dispute before a lockout vote can be held.
The NHL had applied for a mediator in Alberta, but informed the board after three days that it didn’t believe meetings would have to be held.
Lawyers for the NHL told the board that the league has always bargained as a unit and not through individual teams and argued that the league needs to operate under one set of labour laws to function.
The labour board didn’t answer the question as to whether the league should come under its jurisdiction.
It noted that both the league and the players have made arguments under the laws of various jurisdictions depending on circumstances.
But it did decide that it had discretion under the law not to issue a ruling at all if it felt that would be the best way to get the two sides back to the bargaining table.
“This is a case where it makes labour relations sense to exercise our discretion not to make a declaration of unlawful conduct and not to issue any remedy.”