CHL EMPLOYMENT CLASS ACTIONS UPDATE
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
A deal was reached in the CHL Employment class actions in 2020. Why is it taking so long for the players in the QMJHL, OHL, and WHL to receive their share of these settlement funds?
It is the Quebec case fronted by former players Thomas Gobeil and Lukas Walter that is delaying the payment of funds.
The Quebec lawsuit started in 2014 and, like the parallel cases in Ontario and Alberta, related only to possible player compensation. It alleged that players who played in the QMJHL, during certain periods[i] between 2011-2018 depending on the province, should have legally been considered “employees” and subject to provincial employment standards legislation.
The laws in all provinces have since been clarified to confirm that all CHL players, including QMJHL players, are not entitled to be paid like employees, including not entitled to minimum wage.
Nevertheless, the Quebec class action case for QMJHL players, as well as the Ontario and Alberta cases for OHL and WHL players, were settled in 2020 for $30,000,000. The payout is estimated to be in the range of $8,000-$12,000 per player for eligible players who played in the League an average of approximately two seasons.
Both the Court in Alberta and the Court in Ontario have already approved the deal and agreed that the settlement is in the best interest of all players.
In Quebec, Lukas Walter and Thomas Gobeil, both of whom participated in the court process on behalf of QMJHL players, and agreed with the terms of the settlement, are now reneging on the deal they agreed to.
It is time to end all the legal back and forth and have the players access the settlement.
If you want all of this to end and get access to your portion of the funds, email the administrator, as soon as possible, preferably before the end of March, at chlclassaction@veritaglobal.com and include:
- your contact information (name, address, phone number)
- that you want to support the settlement.
If you don’t, and let others speak for you, there is a chance that the settlement may not be approved, and the case could take another 5 to 10 years before a final Court decision is rendered. Going to trial is not in the best interest of players, not only because of the time it takes, but also because of the clarifications in the laws that they cannot be paid as employees. The final Court decision could therefore be unfavorable to players who would then get no money at all.
Please note that this case does not relate in any way to the physical or mental health of the players, or allegations of hazing, but is solely related to the legal status of the players as employees or not. Any discussion of hazing or any other types of issues that allegedly should be fixed through this settlement are irrelevant to this employment case and unduly delays payment of settlement funds to players.
BACKGROUND
The Quebec class action case has been going since 2014 and covers players who played in the QMJHL between 2011 and 2018 depending on the province. The basic claim is that players should have been considered “employees” and paid minimum wages under provincial legislation. The League has always disagreed with this. The laws in all provinces have since been clarified to confirm that QMJHL players are not entitled to be paid like employees, including not entitled to minimum wage.
We know our players decided to play in our league knowing that they would not receive wages. What our players receive is the best hockey development program in the world. Players receive the chance to play professional hockey, or if that is not the case, players receive the one of the best sports scholarship programs in Canada. This is clearly set out in the documents you signed when you started to play. You know what you will receive and that there is no other league in our area that provides as much to players as the QMJHL.
Despite the clarity about your status as a player, without any admission of liability, and to avoid a decade-long legal battle, the Leagues attempted to settle the three class actions for those who had played before the laws were clarified. Our choice was that if someone would benefit, we would prefer it to be our players rather than the lawyers – it is as simple as that.
Under the settlement agreement, approximately 4,200 CHL players in the three Leagues are eligible to make a claim for payment from the $30,000,000 settlement (if they did not sign a contract with an NHL team). The payout is estimated to be in the range of $8,000-$12,000 per player for eligible players.
The settlement was agreed to by Lukas Walter and Thomas Gobeil on behalf of QMJHL players. On September 11, 2020, Walter and Gobeil’s lawyers filed an application to approve the settlement in Quebec. Gobeil signed an affidavit in support of the settlement on September 3, 2020.
On September 15, 2020, the Courts in Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta held their joint hearing on settlement approval. An hour before the hearing, two former players tried to intervene to oppose the approval of the settlement.
The Quebec Court did not allow them to intervene. However, what did happen was the Courts, believing that the language used in the legal release of claims was too broad as drafted, they asked the parties to propose a different and narrower wording for the release. The Courts had no issue with the amount of the settlement or anything else. The parties revised the language and used a more favorable one for players. Mr. Gobeil and Mr. Walter agreed with it and signed the amended release in May and June 2023 so that the Courts could complete the approval of the settlement.
However, shortly after in June 2023, Walter and Gobeil, who attended the negotiation and agreed with the terms of the settlement in 2020 and the amended release in 2023, suddenly changed their mind and decided to now oppose the settlement among other reasons because it did not include any behaviour modification tools dealing with the health and well-being of the players, despite the fact this case does not relate to these issues.
Further, they recommended to the Court that some of the settlement amounts could be administered by the World Association of Icehockey Players Unions (WAIPU). WAIPU is based in Europe, and they do not represent any North American players. Walter and Gobeil have recently admitted in court testimony that they are being advised by Randy Gumbley, who is affiliated with WAIPU.
Walter and Gobeil are also now seeking to annul the settlement agreement because they wrongfully believe that the Leagues would have paid more than $30,000,000.00 to settle the matter had they asked Hockey Canada (who is not sued in this case) to give them additional funds.
The amount of $30M had nothing to do with the Leagues ability to pay more or not for the settlement. Rather, it was negotiated and agreed to because of the likelihood for the players of not receiving anything at all if the case went to trial, a process which would have taken between 5 to 10 years to complete. The Leagues are not willing to pay anything more than the $30M agreed to in 2020, additional funds or not.
We believe Gobeil and Walter are reneging on the settlement agreement and wish to take this matter to trial on the advice of Randy Gumbley and WAIPU.
The League’s position is that the $30,000,000.00 settlement was negotiated in good faith, is in the best interest of the players and should be approved by the Quebec Court.
The WHL and OHL settlements have already been approved by the Alberta and Ontario Courts. However, for all players to receive their share of the settlement, the Quebec Court also needs to approve the agreement. This is the final remaining hurdle to end the litigation so players can receive their payments.
If the Quebec Court does not approve the settlement, none of the players across the CHL will receive a share of the $30,000,000.
Your Voice Matters
On June 2, 11 and 20, 2025 the Quebec Court will consider whether the settlement agreement should be approved in Quebec.
If you want all of this to end and get access to your portion of the funds, email the administrator, as soon as possible, preferably before the end of March, at chlclassaction@veritaglobal.com and include:
- your contact information (name, address, phone number)
- that you want to support the settlement.
Notices about the development in this case were emailed and mailed to players in January 2025.
