The Brain Injury Association of Canada – BIAC – would like to thank the Standing Committee on Health for their invitation to speak to and answer questions with regards to Helmet Certification on Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Brain Injury Association of Canada strongly urges the Standing Committee on Health studying Bill C-6 to support regulations requiring minimum standards for sport helmets, and in particular to include the contents of Bill C-289, a private member’s bill introduced by Dr. Hedy Fry. As well, within the legislation, BIAC would like to see provisions that would allow CSA helmet standards implemented in a far more timely manner once all CSA product testing has been satisfactorily completed. Health Canada staff should continue to take an active role during the standards development process; that they develop ongoing impact assessments on the implications and / or changes to the standard; and that Heath Canada staff consult widely with stakeholders during the process of standard development.
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The Government has put into place a process which requires your immediate participation for passage of Bill C-289. Thanking you in advance for taking the time to advance this Bill through Parliament! Your Participation is required; this is not a done deal. If Canadians remain silent then the government could drop the legislation or stall its passage.

How to Get Involved
The Government of Canada is committed to providing the Canadian public and other stakeholders with the opportunity to participate in the development of legislative initiatives. You are invited to forward to Health Canada, detailed comments on the proposed options for legislative action regarding ski and snowboarding helmets, or any other suggestions. As applicable, please supply evidence to support your comments.

Consultation Document
This consultation is open for comment starting March 24th, 2009 until June 1st, 2009. Once you select the link for the consultation document, you will be able to read through the background and considerations, and submit your comments via email, by fax or in writing to:

Where to send it
Email: M&E@hc-sc.gc.ca

Canada Post:
Ski and Snowboarding Helmet Consultation
Mechanical & Electrical Hazards Division
Consumer Product Safety Bureau
Health Canada
123 Slater Street, 4th floor, AL: 3504D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K9

Fax: (613) 952-9138

Original Press Releases

• Canada’s first Alpine Helmet standard helps make skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing safer! – March 24/09
• Health Canada and Canadian Standards Association Announce New Standard for Snow Sport Helmets – March 24/09
• Fry calls for urgent action on Snow Sport Helmet Safety – March 19/09
• Read the Press Release outlining the importance of this Bill – February 5/09

In the Media

• From the Globe and Mail: Insurers should refuse coverage to ski resorts unless they insist on helmets
• From the Globe and Mail: The five-hour scramble to save Natasha Richardson
• From the Vancouver Sun: Government could make helmet makers submit head gear for approval or make it illegal to sell substandard helmets, as with hockey gear
• From the Globe and Mail: Celebrity death, overdue action – March 25/09
• From the Globe and Mail: Helmet testing may become mandatory – March 25/09
• From CTV.ca: New standard for skiing, snowboarding helmet safety
• From the Montreal Gazette: British Actress Flown out of Canada after Quebec Ski Accident
• From the Montreal Gazette: Montreal Gazette Editorial Supports Bill C-289
• From CTV: Wear Certified helmets to Prevent Brain Injuries Support Bill C-289
• From Pique Magazine: Helmet law a no-brainer – Private member’s bill would establish standards for sport helmets
• From the National Post: It’s time to lay down the law for helmets: Head Protection; Gear is not created equal, and it’s time to set standards, by Dr. Tim Rindlisbacher.
• From the Calgary Herald: Don’t trust ski helmets to protect you in a crash!

What you can do
Email this letter to your MP, the Minister of Health and the Prime Minister! (Copy and paste it into your emails)

Find your Member of Parliament’s email address.
The Minister of Health’s e-mail is Aglukkaq.L@parl.gc.ca
The Prime Minister’s e-mail is Harper.S@parl.gc.ca
Please do this today!

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Following is the UN website which explains the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities very well (it has an excellent power point presentation!) and the progress that is being made in this area. http://www.un.org/disabilities/

It is important to move quickly on this as it is an important signal to those with disabilities that all are valued in Canadian society and in fact right around the world. Canada should be a world leader here. It is the provinces’ role to encourage the federal government with as much effort as we can to ratify this quickly.

Also see the 2008 Federal Disabilities Report: Advancing the Inclusion of People with Disabilities which outlines the work to date on this file, specifically pages 10 and 11. Unfortunately, it is believed much more can be done.

The NDP have made statements in the respective Houses to urge the government to action. The Federal NDP has pointed out on several occasions that of the 139 signatories to the Convention, 82 have already signed the Optional Protocol and, of those 82, 30 have ratified. Canada, meanwhile, languishes with those who have signed but not even ratified the Convention itself.

Hope this is helpful and we see real progress on file quickly before the next International Day of Persons with Disabilities in December! Please feel free to circulate this to as many groups working with people with disabiities as possible. We encourage people to write to their MP’s to ratify this UN Convention.

Thank You to David Forbes MLA Saskatoon Centre for bring this to BIAC’s attention and promoting action on this Convention and to Judy Wasylycia-Leis, MP, the NDP Critic for Persons with Disabilities for working to better the lives of those living with disabilities in Canada and for her efforts on this UN Convention.

Harry Zarins, M.Ed.
Executive Director
Brain Injury Association of Canada

GATINEAU, Quebec – On Tuesday, April 14, 2009 the Brain Injury Association of Canada will partner with the District of North Vancouver, North Shore Safety Council, Think First and the Alzheimer Society, Legacies 2010 to speak about the Prevention of Brain Injuries at a Public Meeting in the Council Chambers of Municipal Hall, located at 355 West Queen’s Rd., District of North Vancouver. The event will start at 7:00 pm and conclude at 9:00 pm.

The District of North Vancouver provides the opportunity for you to view either live Council meetings or archived previous Council meetings via your home PC. Live Broadcast – Council meetings commence at 7pm each Monday evening. Follow the meeting live while in session or archived.

During this time there will be a screening of the video documentary “Wipe Out”. Visit http://wipeout.knowledgenetwork.ca/index.html for trailer or entire video!

The film carries a very important message, especially to parents of young boys who tend toward risky behaviour in sport. The screening and discussion that will follow is aimed at community leaders and parents who can influence decision making both at home, in the board room and government. After the showing there will be a panel discussion. The panel will be made up of Dr. Bill Mackie, President of the BC Medical Association; Dr. Brian Hunt, Surgeon, Richard Kinar, Director, Brain Injury Association of Canada; Tom Walker, Director, Participation, Sport and Recreation 2010 Legacies Now; Dr. Hedy Fry, MP Vancouver Centre, a spokesperson from Think First and the Alzheimer Society.

Joining the audience will be Shirley Johnson, President of the Brain Injury Association of Canada. Johnson points out that “Canada has no national recreational helmet safety standards other than for ice hockey helmets which must meet Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standards.”

That is why the Brain Injury Association of Canada strongly supports the passage of Bill C-289; this will force the manufacturers of ski and snowboard helmets to follow the highest standards for these products as developed by the CSA. We also encourage all Canadians to support standard CSA Z.263.1, Alpine and Recreational Snowboard Helmets.” Detailed information can be found at www.biac-aclc.ca

Treating preventable injuries, such as acquired brain injury, costs Canadians $15 billion per year. This sum further compromises Canadian business in these economic times, lowers our standard of living, and strains our publicly funded health care system.

Contributions to the Brain Injury Association can be made to directly to the Brain Injury Association of Canada (http://biac-aclc.ca/en/donate/), or through CanadaHelps (www.canadahelps.org). BIAC is funded by the generosity of donors, as well as sponsors of its national Hawaiian Oyster Odyssey events.

For more information about the Brain Injury Association of Canada, visit www.biac-aclc.ca.

For more information, please contact:
Harry Zarins, Executive Director, Brain Injury Association of Canada 2
1-866-977-2493
harry.zarins@biac-aclc.ca

Tom Walker
Director, Participation, Sport and Recreation
2010 Legacies Now & North Shore Safety Council\
1-604-778-327-5147
twalker@2010legaciesnow.com