Evidence of meeting #5 for Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was going.
A video is available from Parliament.
As an Individual
I would not look to pro sport for this. I think things have improved greatly. I am really happy we didn't lose Sidney Crosby. I think that's huge.
Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, Lib.
We had a young goalie in here a couple of months back who kept getting run. They would suspend the players who would run him. They would get their four, six or eight games, and they would come back and do the same thing. I hope I'm getting this testimony right, but my recollection of the family' opinion was that the suspensions didn't work.
You had said to take head shots right out of the game, with suspensions. Do you think that will work, or do you think the suspensions need to be massive, such as 30 or 10 or 12 games?
As an Individual
I look back to what Dave Branch did in the OHL and the CHL. From what I saw, he was turning what would normally be a three-gamer into 10. Dave Branch is not afraid to do what's right. He's a wonderful man. We're lucky to have him overseeing things.
I can't speak to what goes on in terms of somebody running a goaltender. Obviously, if it's happening a lot, something is going on. It would certainly be deterred with 10, but I'm not there, so I don't know the ins and outs of it.
Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, Lib.
You talk about data sharing and knowledge sharing, and we've also heard that there might be a—
As an Individual
If you go to 10, here's what will happen. On the back end of this, as coach would say, you're not going to have the fighters. The fighter is not going to come out. If the referee is going to referee consistently, strongly, assertively, then if it's only a two- or three-game suspension, and he comes out the next game, then whatever team has that goalie on it.... I'm sure there's one guy going out there to go have a little chat with whoever ran him and had that three-game suspension. If you go to 10, I think that will erase that. I think it will clean it up. I think it will stop it from even happening the next time. Refereeing is a huge part of this as well.
Sorry, go on. I didn't mean to interrupt.
Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, Lib.
No, you're bringing up another interesting point. You say that if you make that 10 instead of three, you'll get rid of the fighters in the game. I've seen that change as well. Now you don't have a fighter in the game who's just a fighter, who sits on the bench just to fight. They have to be able to contribute; they have to be able to play.
As an Individual
Detroit started that. They went to four lines, and even now you'll see that there is very little.... The coveted guy is the one who can perform on both sides, if you look at Wayne Simmonds or Wilson. Wilson is an example in the east of sticking up for his teammates but being able to perform as well.
No one wakes up and says, “I really can't wait to go fight.” No one wakes up to do that.
Mr. Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East—Cooksville, Lib.)
Thank you, Mr. Lindros.
Now we're going to move to our last member who will ask questions for three minutes, from the NDP. After that, we'll have a transition. This is our first round. We'll move over to Mr. Chris Nowinski.
Windsor—Tecumseh, NDP
Thank you for clarifying that, Mr. Chair, because some of us are.... We're not just big fans of yours, Eric, but we're big fans of Chris as well.
Windsor—Tecumseh, NDP
I wonder how well you know Chris's work. Maybe before we get a chance to hear him, you could kind of flesh out some of the work he's done. Do you have any quick ideas or observations on some of the work he's done and what's being done in the United States that we could be doing here? You talked about us being more co-operative. Maybe talk about evidence-gathering—
As an Individual
We need a brain bank up here, too.
Can you elaborate on that, Chris?
Chris Nowinski Chief Executive Officer, Concussion Legacy Foundation
Sure, I'm happy to.
We've found that what has been very effective in helping us understand the long-term consequences of concussions and repetitive brain trauma is studying the brain after someone has passed away. There are brain banks here, and there are folks working on this. We found that it's a very positive investment. It really helps us appreciate what's happening on a molecular level, on a biological level, but also the stories of people's lives and how these injuries affect them and sometimes lead to very tragic outcomes.
Windsor—Tecumseh, NDP
Can you just clarify for me...? My riding is Windsor—Tecumseh. I'm right across from Detroit. I don't want to name names, but we have wonderful athletes who have—
Windsor—Tecumseh, NDP
Oh, okay, good.
No, I'm talking about some others from the area who have donated their brains, or their families have.
Windsor—Tecumseh, NDP
I thought we had a bank. So what do we have now, compared to what you're saying, then, Eric or Chris, about a brain bank?