CHL players: Are they being exploited?

Recently, the Toronto Star released an article in which they discuss a class action lawsuit by CHL players against the CHL with regards to player compensation. The importance of this suit cannot be understated as it's outcome could have a great impact on the development of Canadian hockey players.

The Issue:

The crux of the CHL argument is that players fall outside of the traditional employer-emloyee relationship that is covered by labour law because they are "student athletes" and thus the league is not obligated to compensate the players according to minimum wage standards.

The lawyers representing the players argue that the players are employees working in a "for-profit" industry and are thus required to be compensated fairly, or at a minimum by the provincial labour standards.

View:

I have read of number of different opinions on the matter and have taken some time for formulate my own. It is not conceivable how a league, that has "for-profit" franchise and is not an academic institution can claim that its participants are student athletes and not employees. And as employees, the vast majority of the players in the CHL are being exploited for the benefit of the owners of the teams and the entire junior system needs an overhaul.

The main argument often cited is that the CHL provides an opportunity for hockey players to make the NHL and it is a place for young athletes to chase their dream. However, the truth is that only a small fraction of CHL players will go on to have a professional hockey career and even a smaller fraction will play in the NHL. Given this, the goal in examining player compensation should be to see how it impacts the vast majority of players in the CHL.

I would propose the following changes to the CHL:

1. Players should be compensated, at a minimum, in accordance with local labour laws. 
2. Because players are not covered by a collective agreement, they should be free to seek employment from any team and negotiate compensation with the team directly. There is no reason for players to be forced to play in specific locations and removing the draft would help raise player compensation and improve working conditions as teams would be competing for players. 

Many will argue the result of this will be the bankruptcy of some of the lower revenue teams, and the loss of opportunity of players to pursue their "dreams" but this should have little impact of the players who would likely make the NHL or play professional hockey as they would be part of the top tier of junior hockey players and still be employed. 

In all, there is no reason for a number of Canada's youth to be under-compensated and exploited because they chose to work in Canada's national pastime.