Please find below an article to appear in the Forum section of the upcoming issue of Abilities Magazine. It’s a good summary of the productivity of the Ontario project to date.
Toward an Ontario Brain Strategy – NHCC Ontario work – Abilities Magazine

By Faiza Wasim, Canwest News Service April 15, 2010 6:02 PM

OTTAWA — Standing next to a mother who lost her daughter in a horrific traffic accident, a Newfoundland MP on Thursday introduced a private member’s bill meant to make heavy trucks safer.

Liberal Siobhan Coady’s Bill C-512 would amend the Motor Vehicle Safety Act to ensure that all vehicles in higher weight categories that are manufactured or imported to Canada would be equipped with side guards to keep people from slipping beneath them.

The bill has a deeply personal meaning for the parents of Jessica Holman-Price, 21, who was killed more than four years ago in Montreal.

“On Dec. 19, 2005, our lives changed forever when our kids were standing on a snowbank at a busy intersection waiting to cross the street,” said Jeanette Holman-Price, Jessica’s mother, told a news conference on Parliament Hill.

That day, when the light turned green, a snow-removal truck came around the corner and caught the edge of the mound, causing Jessica’s 10-year-old brother, Peter-Luc, to slide under the vehicle.

Jessica reached for him but she too lost her footing and slid under the wheels of the truck. In a split second, she managed to push her brother out of harm’s way before the truck killed her. Jessica was posthumously awarded the Governor General’s Medal of Bravery.

The Jessica Campaign was started by the family, with the goal of improving road safety by fitting side guards — also known as under-run protection devices — to large vehicles.

It’s hoped that requiring side guards will prevent pedestrians and cyclists from falling under such vehicles.

Coady said she has met with Jessica’s mother a number of times to learn more about the issue and to develop solutions.

“Our campaign began the moment we saw the truck which killed our daughter didn’t have side-guard protection,” said Holman-Price.

“If side guards were on that truck, we wouldn’t be here today. Having lived and travelled through Europe and Australia, we assumed side guards were standard equipment in Canada. Today, we are grateful for the support of the Canadian public and understanding from across political parties and jurisdictions. The inevitability of safer roads, through Jessica’s memory and this Bill introduced by Siobhan Coady, will save other families from sharing our family’s tragedy.”

A study by the Transportation Safety Association of Canada found that improved frontal and side truck design cuts pedestrian fatalities the 20 per cent. As well, the severity of injuries is decreased by 25 per cent.

Legislation mandates under-run protection devices in the European Union and Australia, among others, but no such laws exist at the national level in Canada.

At the provincial level, Newfoundland and Labrador is installing side guards on its new fleet of snow-removal equipment.

Also speaking at the news conference was Shirley Johnson of the Brain Injury Association of Canada, whose son suffered a brain injury in a similar accident.

“Brain injuries are forever,” said Johnson. “Any bill that could save lives is worth promoting.”

Talking about her son, Holman-Price said he has a Mensa-level IQ and can speak three languages English, French and Norwegian but that he is now failing junior high school because his learning abilities have been severely affected as a result of a brain injury he sustained during the accident.

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.

When the CSA has underwritten a standard there must be a quicker process to access the Hazardous Product Act within Bill C-6. When CSA underwrites a standard it goes through a very long process working with all stakeholders, this process must be taken into account and recognized in Bill C-6. If we could use the process that was applied when underwriting the standards for Alpine Sport Helmets; this new standard should have been given the Hazardous Product Act status once the process was completed.

The leading killer and disabler of youth in Canada is preventable injury. Many serious and fatal injuries are sport-related head injuries. A quality sport helmet is a proven way of helping to prevent injury in sport. Studies show that effective helmets can prevent up to 85% of sport-related deaths. Helmets are also exceptionally cost-effective: a major US study has shown that for every $1 spent on helmets, $29 is saved in health, productivity, and other costs of injury.

The Canadian government has committed to increasing physical activity in Canada by 10% in anticipation of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. It follows that a similar increase in safe sport practices, such as wearing helmets, is necessary to ensure the health, social and economic outcomes associated with sport and physical activity are not erased by an increase in injury.

Effective helmets reduce the risk of serious brain injury or death to youth and adults alike. However, there are currently no minimum standards in place to ensure that the helmets Canadians use are safe and effective.

Presently, the Hazardous Product Act provides the authority needed to ensure all helmets in Canada are effective enough to save lives.

The Hazardous Products Act includes a list of “prohibited products” which may not be advertised, sold or imported. Hockey helmets have been classified under federal hazardous product legislation, and as such, this legislation requires all hockey helmets sold in Canada to be approved by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA).

All sport helmets should be treated as hockey helmets are. If a helmet is not effective enough to pass CSA standards, it has no place on Canadian shelves. The inclusion of the contents of Bill C-289 into Bill C-6 will begin this process by placing ski and snowboard helmets on the Hazardous Products list alongside hockey helmets.

Youth and adults across Canada see this as good for their health. I ask you to do all you can to ensure that all helmets meet minimum standards, so that we may prevent death and disability among Canadians.

Submitted by:
Richard Kinar, BIAC Board Member
Harry Zarins, Executive Director
Helmet Certification, Usage and Injury Prevention
Submitted on : June 10, 2009

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