Revenue Canada ruled that since the NHL "was an
employer" of "fired" Senators employee Wayne Kennedy, the
league must provide payment into Canadian pension and
insurance plans, according to Tim Harper of the TORONTO
STAR. Kennedy then "filed an appeal with the Ontario Labour
Standards Branch requesting severance pay" due to him. The
NHL had never previously provided such payments, because it
"maintained" that Canadian officials such as Kennedy "were
not [league] employees." A government official said that
the ruling "would apply to any other NHL employees in
Canadian rinks if they want to cite the decision." Kennedy
was dismissed from his position as a "minor off-ice
official," responsible for timing TV commercial breaks and
monitoring the on-ice and dasherboard ads for the Senators,
after appearing in a Toronto Star photo wearing a Maple
Leafs cap and jersey. In an article accompanying the photo,
Kennedy protested a new regional TV schedule limiting Leafs
games in Ottawa. Kennedy: "I was talking about what I like
to do in my off hours, on my off days. ... I didn't think I
did anything wrong then." Harper writes that the NHL has
"not indicated whether it will abide" by the Revenue Canada
ruling or "launch an appeal" (TORONTO STAR, 3/31).
IS PRESSURE GROWING ON PLAYERS? THE HOCKEY NEWS' Alan
Adams writes that Canadian MPs Denis Coderre and Dennis
Mills are "trying to dip into" the NHLPA's estimated C$80-
120M NHLPA "reserve fund." The two "have sent a formal
letter" to Canada Revenue Minister Herb Dhaliwal, requesting
that Revenue Canada "take a hard look at the NHLPA's tax-
exempt status." The "reserve fund" could be taxed as much
as $35-40M if the exempt status is lifted (THN, 4/2 issue).
