ChrisinOrleans

There are 450 000 people in Laval, and another 120 000 in the rive-nord. This excludes Terrebonne and Repentigny, which are both around 100 000 as well. There is room for a team in the rive-nord region, but it will be like York 9 in that none of the municipalities really feel connected to each other. Like, Saint-Jérôme is only 15 minutes away from Blainville, but it's night and day as far as community is concerned. People aren't going to drive from Terrebonne to Blainville to watch a soccer game, unless there is a new train de banlieu built to service the whole rive-nord in the next few years. The rive-sud is probably a better bet. Longueuil is around 250 000 people, and has Brossard, Châteauguay and Saint-Jean to draw from. However, same idea. With the exception of Longueuil and Brossard being kind of the same place and having a métro stop or two on the yellow line, the rive-sud is super diverse. Chambly and Saint-Jean sometimes identify closer to Sherbrooke, Magog and the cantons de l'est than rive-sud. So branding would be an issue. Both places lack stadiums in any meaningful way. Both could probably support a team in their own right. En tout cas, Québec is a better option than either of them. The Impact have been around since 1993 and have a LOT of loyal fans around the region. I know a ton of Franco-Ontariens in Hawkesbury, Alfred and even Orléans that support the Impact through and through, to the Fury's detriment.

It's really not that simple. I don't want to come across like a know-it-all here, but I've got a degree in law and want to explain a few things. Sanctioning bodies are not gods. They can regulate your profession, or your league, or your dental practice, but they cannot influence WHERE you practice. I'll give you some examples. All doctors in the country are bound by the College of Physicians in Ottawa. It's a pretty simple body. Respect the rules, keep current on training, pay a fee and register your practice. Sound familiar? Okay, keeping physicians in Canada is naturally a good thing. There is even some provincial legislation around how we can entice you to go to the country or a different part of the province or town. There is absolutely no law that could prohibit that doctor from still paying their medical dues, and being able to practice in Canada, yet doing so in Ohio or France. Indeed, many do this. This also applies for the Law Society of Upper Canada, and lawyers. You can graduate here, live here, pay your dues here, and work in New York (as long as they're sanctioning you) without the LSUC being able to say anything as long as your meet their educational requirements and pass the bar (and don't commit a crime). It all stems from Section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (mobility rights). If the CSA said 'We're going to use our sanctioning powers to prevent a Canadian business from operating in its preferred economic climate to force them to join a league in which we directly profit', they would directly be contravening OSEG's right to derive an income in the location of their choosing. This is ignoring the fact that the CSA derives a direct economic benefit from the sales of CanPL (since CSA material is bundled in the media package). That's opening a different court challenge, based on 'The Canadian Competition Act'. Basically, a regulatory organization can hold a monopoly on a professions government structure, and can admit or reject members based on skill or failure to maintain their practice, but cannot stifle competition among its members. In this case, that means that CanPL will have to compete with USL, but cannot hold a monopoly forcing Ottawa to join. If the CSA denied the Fury sanctioning for no reason other than to force them into a league of their choosing, and OSEG sued, the CSA would lose on both of the above grounds. We're not even exploring the possibility of a NAFTA suit either. Denying a company the ability to sell its wares to an American firm in place of a Canadian firm - in a sporting context no less - is a clear violation of our own trade laws. I don't know enough about trade law to speak intelligently about a trade suit, but I've seen them brought about for even dumber things than this. Oh, and courts are not thrilled to be ruling on anything outside of established precedent. But they will happily do so, sports or otherwise. We're not talking about sporting rules, but the limitations of professional regulatory bodies to sanction (or coerce) independent actors into a new economic arrangement.

They'd lose the ensuing court challenge and be back at square one.

I completely agree about the multi-lingual commentary. Kudos for willing to learn about aboriginal languages. I wish I had that opportunity! And if you want to learn a bit of French, you're in the right city! Sudbury is super bilingual.

Yes, several times. I have contacted their website in English and French, and tweeted a thread at them as well. https://twitter.com/pennyforcliche/status/1014208379361714176 I mentioned earlier that the translation is awful. Likewise, translation =/= content. The video they did for "got game?" wasn't even translated. That's pretty uninviting. Very much so. I mentioned on these forums a while back that I think each game should have an aboriginal ceremony of some kind. Kind of like how they walk onto the pitch holding the hands of a kids local team, maybe make it a team from a local aboriginal band or nation. That being said, it would be a logistical nightmare to do all aboriginal languages, but Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut shouldn't be too hard to pin down, and they're the most common. Beau travail!

No. Either you accept Acadiens, Franco-Ontariens, Franco-Manitobans and the entirety of the Canadian Francophonie as integral and equal, or you don't. Why should Saint-Boniface and Saint-Norbert have to wait for the benevolence of the CanPL only after Québec or Ottawa join? Why should Acadiens have to be denied any communication? If the league continues to brand itself as 'by Canadians, for Canadians', then it can act like it. Either we count, or we don't. Geography is irrelevant.

USL is worse, but they're American and I don't care. A league that brands itself 'by us, for us' then doesn't include 'us' is what agitates me. After the initial launch, there has been zero social media presence in French. Not even for Canada Day (or St-Jean). So like, I want to care, but until they meet the Fury (or Impact), it's hard to do so.

Alors, c'est notre nouveau date: 2020.

Ditto. I don't care how slow Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé is on the recovery, or how injured Maxim Tissot gets (again). They're my players and I will go support the Fury. Also you can finally buy wine to drink in the stands now, so Place TD has a loyal customer for life.

I live in Orléans and hit up Ottawa games about 5 - 6 times a year. I'd rather them be in USL than a pub league with kids who played kick-the-ball once or twice in college or university. CanPL is looking worse and worse, and my original enthusiasm for both joining this forum and supporting the league is wavering daily. Also, CanPL has yet to offer messaging in French and their translation is even worse than the government auto-message you get on your phone when a storm is coming.

No, you believe OSEG and the existing ownership cannot afford fragmentation. That's not 'we', that's Anglo-Ottawa businesses. Honestly, having seen the Fury (a lot) I like that the give Francophone kids a shot, but they don't do French videos or interviews, don't bother to have any outreach in our community and have made a few blunders around inclusion in Orléans and Vanier that really irritated a lot of people in the community. If they fail, I am not going to lose sleep over it. They barely consider Vanier a part of their market, let alone Gatineau. If Gatineau kills them, then the Fury deserved to die. Besides, Ottawa has 900 000 people. Gatineau has 350 000. That's the same as Halifax and Victoria. Also, with the wishy-washy attitude Ottawa is taking to CanPL, wouldn't you rather have a team that actually wants to be there in the league instead?

You're making the assumption that most people in Gatineau support the Fury, or even care about its existence. OSEG didn't exactly endear itself to many Francophones when they first launched: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/redblacks-mufferaw-now-just-another-joe-after-francophone-backlash/article17763432/ Gatineau supports les Olympiques over the 67's, and the Senators have consistently failed to draw from the Gatineau market (largely due to distance and culture). The Redblacks do alright in Gatineau, but that's really only because of how many Québécois kids play on the team and how popular football has become in Québec. A Gatineau pro team won't dilute Ottawa's attendance. If anything, a rivalry might improve Ottawa's numbers. That being said, if Gatineau can make a case for a team, and it kills the Ottawa franchise, well, that's life.

I'll gladly retract my words when the blog is nominated for a Man Booker Prize, or the Governor General's Award in Literature. I will concede, it probably is the best place for Goderich CPL to be mentioned.

I don't know if I would be proud of being mentioned on that blog.

Enfin.