Fans, Regina business owner hoping for return of football as CFL contract dispute continues

Canadian Football League (CFL) players could go on strike soon after voting "no" to a contract offer from the league Monday night.

On Tuesday, Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said the CFL tabled a final amended proposal to players addressing two of the players' biggest concerns, a ratification bonus and the Canadian ratio.

Ambrosie said the league's final offer includes $1 million to be distributed among the nine teams as a ratification bonus.

The proposal would also reduce the number of nationalized Canadians — Americans who have spent either five years in the CFL or three years with the same team — on each roster from four to one. The proposal also reduces the number of Canadian starters from seven to six. 

Ambrosie said the league gave players until midnight ET Thursday to accept the latest proposal. If players turn it down and go back on strike, they will be served notice to vacate their training facilities.

Fans who spoke with CBC News in Regina said they wanted to see the league back in action soon, particularly in a year following restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and when the city is supposed to host the Grey Cup.

Tim Rogers, co-owner of Lancaster Tap House, said he was concerned about the fact the players voted "no" to the league's first proposal. He said the whole contract dispute raised anxiety for him, as his business relies on fans watching games in his establishment. 

Rogers said it doesn't matter if the Roughriders were playing at home or away, people in Regina pack bars to watch the team play and he wanted that to return.

"After everything in the last two years, everything that's come and gone, every hurdle every business has jumped over, it's just one more thing," Rogers said. 

"We need normal business, we need things to get back to normal so every little hurdle that gets in the way is very frustrating."

For now, he said he's happy the Calgary Flames are playing the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs and that more people who aren't necessarily fans of either team are out to watch the National Hockey League playoffs.

Rogers said he thinks people need something to get excited about — like the start of pre-season football. 

"We're looking for things to get excited about, we're looking for hooks to get on, right? We're excited about full season of football," he said. 

"Every time there's talk about no football, it's stressful." 

At training camp in Saskatoon on Tuesday, Saskatchewan Roughriders union representative Brett Lauther said he personally expected the first offer to be ratified and that a strike over the agreement wasn't something anyone involved wanted to see.

"I'm not going to lie about it, it sucks for everyone and [the fans are] caught in the crossfire," he said. 

"The fans out here are the best and everyone knows that."

He said every player has their own personal reasons for voting as they did and his job as union representative was to inform players so they could make their own decision about the first proposal from the league. 

Lauther said he hoped to see a long-term agreement reached with the league soon and noted he'd been discussing the matter with the media for years and it has become "tiresome."

Lauther said the ratification bonuses were a sticking point for some. He said some players may not be around in 2024 when any new agreement comes into effect, so it was tough to agree to something they may not see benefits from. 

But he said past deals showed any bonus is a give and take.

"Usually when you get a ratification bonus … you're getting screwed somewhere else," Lauther said.

"If you give us that [bonus] now you have to take away something from somewhere else. It's kind of just the yin and the yang of what's going on to get something done."