To All Players,

Thursday, April 16, 2015 at our Annual General Meeting your elected Player Representatives, upon the recommendations of your Executive, have made changes that will benefit you the Players today and for years to come. We took a long hard look at how we operate and have worked tirelessly to find the best people to help us work towards creating the best system possible.

Through the extensive process we never lost sight of our core values, to protect and represent you the Players while establishing fair and reasonable working conditions for all Players. You, the Players, are the product and deserve the levels of protection and compensation commensurate with that role and responsibility.

Legal Counsel

We are proud to announce that the Toronto based firm of Paliare Roland has been unanimously appointed as our Legal Counsel. Paliare Roland and its lawyers are among the best recognized and sought after lawyers in Canada. In 2013, the firm was named Ontario Law Firm of the Year by Benchmark Canada.

Chris Paliare, along with his lawyers Don Eady and Caroline (Nini) Jones, and his firm are among the best labour side law firms in Canada and will deliver exceptional performance for the Members of the CFLPA.

Labour Management Consultant

We are also proud to announce the appointment of Ken Georgetti as Labour Management Consultant. Ken is the former President of the Canadian Labour Congress and will assist the Players by overseeing all collective agreement matters. Ken has over thirty-five years experience in labour relations. He is an Order of Canada recipient whose knowledge and experience will help us immensely. We will lean on his expertise immediately.

Special Advisor on Structure and Operations

Another member of our team will be Jock Climie, who will serve as Special Advisor on Structure and Operations to the CFLPA. Jock will assist in matters as needed by the Executive, specifically on the Operations side of the business. Jock enjoyed a 12-year CFL career playing for the Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa Rough Riders and Toronto Argonauts. His perspective is molded from his years as a Player, a Player Representative, a lawyer and an analyst on TSN. Jock will be a trusted addition to our team.

Thank you!

We would also like to thank Ed Molstad for his years of outstanding work and representation of our Members. Ed has represented and been the Legal Counsel of the CFLPA for nearly 40 years, molding the game we all know and love today. Ed will continue to make himself available to the Players’ Association through this transition. Thank you Ed, from past, present and future Players!

To assist and advise during the process, the Executive of the CFLPA enlisted the services of a prominent British Columbia attorney, Art Vertlieb. Art served as a Special Advisor to the Executive. His legal and professional accomplishments are extensive and he was a trusted voice throughout the process.

Good luck to you all this upcoming season.

Scott Flory

President – CFL Players’ Association