David Stern may have to hold back on using scab refs. The East Bay Express reports:
But, according to Canadian law professor David Doorey, the presence of a team in Canada, the Toronto Raptors, may limit the NBA’s options. The Canadian labor law that covers the Raptors contains stout protections for workers, protections that are missing in American labor law. The protections require the completion of a conciliation process run by their Ministry of Labour before any lock out, Doorey says, a process that the NBA has not begun.
So, due to the presence of the Toronto Raptors in the league, the desire of the NBA to completely scab the games will be stymied in Canada, setting up a very complicated situation for the league as a whole.