For many years, Paris Jackson carried around a necklace, which contained the remains of his mother Louise, who died in 2000 after a fight with pancreatic cancer.

It gave him strength and hope. It reminded him of where he had been and how far he had come.

He lost the necklace, but he’s never lost touch of what his mom meant, the influence she had in making him what he is today.

"She was diagnosed when I was away for my freshman year," says the 33-year-old Jackson, a former all-star receiver who played 11 seasons for the B.C. Lions before signing with the Ottawa RedBlacks in March. "She had lost 80 lbs by the time I came home for the summer. I stayed home and played junior football for the Vancouver Trojans. I was going to give up football. But I got some notoriety and a junior college called and offered me a partial scholarship. My mom told me there was nothing I could do for her at home.

"I had lived with my mom. I was a mommy’s boy. She worked 9-5, but she was at every single game. I took life for granted. When she passed away, my life turned around."

Jackson wound up with the University of Utah. He began pushing himself on the field, in training and especially in the classroom. The boy became a man, a talented football player who was drafted sixth overall by the Lions in 2003. And the man became a guy with a conscience, somebody who makes huge contributions off the football field. (With some Cherokee blood in him) he’s a motivational speaker in the Aboriginal community, tagging along with teammate JR Larose on a trip to Yellowknife through -50C temperatures. He became a football coach at Sentinel High School, leaving Lions practices to help mold the minds and bodies of teenage players.

And he got married to Suzy. They have two children — five-year-old daughter Solene and three-year-old son Isiah Jr.

The family will stay in B.C., while Jackson moves to Ottawa.

"I’m going to take care of business," he says. "I want to focus on football."

It’s that focus on football that has him determined to contribute to the RedBlacks, who immediately impressed him at a two-day mini camp last month.

"When we went down to Virginia, I was kind of nervous," he says. "It was different for me. I had been in B.C. for 11 years. But once I got there, I could feel this wasn’t an expansion team. It just seemed like everything is in place. I really believe we are a playoff team. We’re not coming in just happy to play."

There is, of course, a bit of a roadblock in the RedBlacks getting down to business when training camp is scheduled to open on June 1. There is a fairly wide divide in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.

While Jackson says it isn’t always about money for the league’s players, what’s fair is fair.

"We’re humble athletes in the CFL," he says. "We don’t do it for the money, we do it for the love of the game. But all we want is our fair share. Some guys make more in the off-season than they do during the football season.

"I’ve been playing for 11 years and I don’t know how many jerseys have been sold with my name on it. But I haven’t seen one penny from it."

Three years ago, the Lions told him to take a pay cut ... or get cut. Wanting to keep his family in B.C., he agreed to stay.

Through his career, he’s put up numbers, nice stats. One season, he practically played on one leg, gutting it out. He had back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons — in 2008-09. He’s confident in himself. He knows he can play.

"Any opportunity I’ve had, I’ve always caught the ball," he says. "I feel confident in my ability. I’m going to compete at inside slot, my old position. And when you have Henry Burris and you’re the inside slot receiver, you know you’re going to get the ball."

Twitter: @timcbaines