Bill C-319 (Historical)

National Strategy for Serious Injury Reduction in Amateur Sport Act

An Act respecting a national strategy to reduce the incidence of serious injury in amateur sport

This enactment requires the Minister of Health and the Minister of State (Sport) to convene a conference with the provincial and territorial ministers responsible for health and sport and with representatives of the athletic and medical communities for the purpose of developing a national strategy to reduce the incidence of serious injury in amateur sport. It also authorizes the Minister of Finance to establish guidelines in respect of the allocation of funding to provincial and territorial governments that have enacted legislation to implement that strategy.

Head Injuries

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, not a day goes by without the media reporting on the impact of concussions in professional sport.

Yesterday Sidney Crosby announced he will again find himself sidelined by concussion-like symptoms. NHL points leader Claude Giroux also is sitting out with a concussion. Last week, news broke that the brain of deceased NHL player Derek Boogaard showed signs of CTE as a result of numerous concussions and head shots, yet the government is ignoring the fact that this concussion epidemic is affecting our young athletes.

We have great initiatives in Canada, such as Dr. Paul Echlin's online library and Impakt helmet sensors, but the government is missing in action on this file.

My bill, Bill C-319, would address this epidemic by creating a sports injury data collection system, concussion guidelines, and training and educational standards for coaches, and it would provide incentivized funding to assist amateur sport organizations implementing these protocols.

Concussions are a public health issue. It is time for the government to take action by fast-tracking Bill C-319 to give parents and coaches the tools they need to reduce concussions among our young athletes.

National Strategy for Serious Injury Reduction in Amateur Sport Act

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-319, An Act respecting a national strategy to reduce the incidence of serious injury in amateur sport.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand in the House to introduce this bill entitled, “National Strategy for Serious Injury Reduction in Amateur Sport Act”. This legislation would mandate that the federal government convene a conference of first ministers of health, as well as members of the athletic, medical and health communities in order to implement a strategy for tackling this growing public health concern.

Specifically, the bill outlines a strategy for the federal government to create a national sports injury surveillance and data collection system, establish substantive concussion guidelines, including a sufficient deterrent mechanism to ensure athletes are not being returned to play against expressed medical recommendations, create national training and educational standards for coaches and other persons involved in amateur sport, and institute incentivized funding guidelines to assist amateur sport organizations in implementing these protocols.

Since introducing a similar bill in the last Parliament, I have received overwhelming support from right across the country on this bill. It is my hope that my colleagues from across the aisle will assist me in getting the national sports injury reduction strategy passed as soon as possible.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)