So, here’s what I can tell you about what’s been going on behind the scenes in the CSA reform battle for the last six weeks:
- The official deadline to make amendments to the CSA’s mid-May annual general meeting came and went tonight.
- No motion to reintroduce full CSA reform – provincial presidents removed, taking effect this year, not next – has been filed.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
As you might recall, the full reform package (as well as an amended one that would also have become law in May) died when Alberta stand-in representatives Scott Chen and Ray Calvin – the last men left standing from the deposed Mario Charpentier coup d’etat – voted nay for “the good of the country.”
This, despite the fact that every Alberta district that wired in an opinion urged them to vote “yes.”
An anonymous source close to events told Canadian Soccer News tonight that nothing can be done to revive full reform until the Alberta Soccer Association holds its own AGM on April 16.
It is roundly believed both Chen and Calvin will be dismissed that day. But who takes their place – and whether the new ASA will be pro- or anti-reform – is too unclear tonight for any of the reformers to step up and throw the dice.
So – it’s dead, right?
Apparently not. I’ve been told tonight the matter can be reopened on the floor of the actual CSA AGM.
The basic operator:
- A vote of 50% + 1 (based on each province’s percentage of registered soccer players) is needed to put full reform back on the CSA AGM agenda. I can’t confirm whether that still holds beyond tonight, but I have been assured by a well-placed source that there is still a constitutionally legal way to proceed.
- A vote of 67% would then be needed to pass the original reform package into law. Full reform would then take effect almost immediately.
- The biggest obstacle remains … Alberta.
- Quebec and Nova Scotia also voted against the full package, but 50% + 1 can be attained without them, if enough other provinces sign on. But barring an unforeseeable change of heart in either Halifax or Quebec City, the 67% needed to seal the deal cannot be reached without Alberta switching sides.
That’s all I’ve been able to wrestle onto the record for tonight. There is deep silence on all sides of this story, and by present Canadian soccer standards, it’s been holding quite effectively.
The reform story is far from dead – but it’s going to be asleep at least another week or two.
Onward!