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.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Chair  Mr. Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East—Cooksville, Lib.)
Eric Lindros  As an Individual
Darren Fisher  Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, Lib.
Alexander Nuttall  Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, CPC
Cheryl Hardcastle  Windsor—Tecumseh, NDP
Doug Eyolfson  Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, Lib.
Richard Martel  Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC
Mona Fortier  Ottawa—Vanier, Lib.
Chris Nowinski  Chief Executive Officer, Concussion Legacy Foundation

6:10 p.m.

Mr. Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East—Cooksville, Lib.)

The Chair

We're going to suspend now, members, and we'll be back right after our votes.

We have about five minutes until the votes, then maybe a half an hour for our votes, and then we'll be back. We'll still continue to hear from Mr. Lindros.

6:30 p.m.

Mr. Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East—Cooksville, Lib.)

The Chair

I'm going to commence proceedings again.

Mr. Lindros, hopefully we still have 25 minutes of your time. Thank you for that. That's great.

Also, Mr. Chris Nowinski is at the table. I think this is an opportunity for them to tag-team a little before Mr. Lindros may need to exit, and then Mr. Nowinski will continue with his testimony.

We are now moving over to the Liberals and Madam Fortier, so you may need your earpiece for this one.

6:30 p.m.

Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, Lib.

You will need your earpiece.

First, I want to thank you for taking the time to meet with us today. I know that your time is precious. It's really important that you are here. We thank you for having travelled to be here.

I also want you to know that you have parliamentary privileges here. You have to feel comfortable to speak out without fearing that someone on the other side will come back to you with something you said.

We are studying the situation in the national league and in other leagues around the world. Is there anything more we could ask the leagues to do to decrease the number of concussions?

6:35 p.m.

As an Individual

Eric Lindros

Do you mean in terms of different ideas from other leagues that we could implement in our areas?

6:35 p.m.

Ottawa—Vanier, Lib.

Mona Fortier

Maybe there are practices you've seen in other leagues or something that we should look at, either outside of Canada or even in Canada.

6:35 p.m.

As an Individual

6:35 p.m.

Ottawa—Vanier, Lib.

Mona Fortier

I want you to feel comfortable saying that there are things we should do better.

6:35 p.m.

As an Individual

Eric Lindros

Yes.

No one's tackled it, but it's the hits to the head, unfortunately. Someone who always comes to mind is a player in Boston. His name is Zdeno Chara. He's so much taller than everybody that inevitably there's some contact here and there, but he does his absolute best not to have that contact occur, especially playing with someone like Patrice Bergeron, who has gone through a concussion, so he's very mindful of that. Getting rid of hits to the head, that's a really easy one.

We spoke of starting to hit, or learning to deal with body contact, after we've gone through puberty so there is more of a level playing field. I think that's a really easy one.

I don't know what goes on sometimes in parents' minds, when they want to put their kid through hockey 12 months a year. I mean, arenas are great and all, but they're not the end-all and be-all places to be. Everyone needs a break. I think it's true for everything. Research is coming back that kids who are taking breaks are doing better, so I think that's a great one.

It's about acting on these things. We know that Dr. Carolyn Emery has done the research on contact. Common sense says that if we don't have the contact, injuries are going to go down and concussions are going to go down, yet we still have the contact. Why is that? Where are our groups? Where's Hockey Canada on this?

It's a tough one, but I think it's a pretty easy fix. It wouldn't take a lot to change, and I think it would be for the better. We're still going to have great players—actually probably better players, because they're going to be better skaters. They're going to be better stickhandlers and puck movers, and think the game differently. Trust me. Learning how to work someone off a puck physically and accepting or giving body contact is something that you can pick up pretty quickly.

6:35 p.m.

Ottawa—Vanier, Lib.

Mona Fortier

You said that parents have a role to play in the life of their children who want to become hockey or volleyball players, or play other sports. You said that young athletes have to learn, but how can the parents be involved in that? Do you have any ideas on that?

We have heard testimony from some young people who sustained concussions. Parents also have a role to play. How can we support the parents in all of this?

6:35 p.m.

As an Individual

Eric Lindros

It's awareness in general, yes.

As I mentioned before, I think we have great doctors. We have some great groups, and they have some wonderful videos and things of that nature. If we could run through these, have all our best doctors agree on something, on one video, and make it available and make it part of....

If we went to a broader picture and you thought of.... When I say “amber” to you, what do you think of? You think of a missing child. If I were to say “Rowan” to you, being from Ontario and having Rowan's Law, I would want that to associate with concussion. So can we get a video, can we have a website, with the Canadian flag on it, where people can go with comfort, knowing that it is the best of the best, that this is what our government has to offer, and have testimonials and different videos that have been vetted by our good people, where people can go and learn? They'd know that it's not coming from different parts of the world, from people with different ideas or different agendas; it's pure and it's from the heart, and it's the best we have to offer. It's learning that way, if you want to go from the parent down.

6:35 p.m.

Ottawa—Vanier, Lib.

Mona Fortier

Thank you very much.

6:35 p.m.

Mr. Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East—Cooksville, Lib.)

The Chair

We're moving over to the Conservatives.

We have Mr. Martel, again.

February 6th, 2019 / 6:35 p.m.

Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC

Richard Martel

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Lindros, I'd like to know, out of simple curiosity, if you had any concussions during the years when you played in the junior league.

6:40 p.m.

As an Individual

Eric Lindros

Yes, I think back to that. I don't recall having any situations. It was really interesting, and it took a while and I got extremely angry. Personally, I went from being a really good player and improving, doing really well in the best league in the world and playing at the highest level, to going through concussion. It changes you dramatically. It changes your outlook on things. It changes you from within. There are huge fears, cutting through the middle. You have it on the outside that you're okay and so on, but you're never the same. You don't think as quickly. You don't react as quickly.

Now I can go to a quick game of pickup and I can be doing just fine out there, but to play at the highest level, that involves your edge, your quickness, your ability to adjust, your ability to read and react. Going through the concussions erased that in me, and I got really upset and depressed. I was extremely angry. I continued to try to play, but I wasn't the same. I wasn't as sharp. I wasn't close to being as good as I once was. It takes a lot out of your heart too. It's a difficult thing to go through.

6:40 p.m.

Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC

Richard Martel

Did you have any concussions before you played in the national league, that is to say during the years when you were in the junior league, the OHL?

6:40 p.m.

As an Individual

Eric Lindros

I don't recall that. I don't recall being concussed in junior hockey. I'm trying to think back, and I don't believe that was the case.

6:40 p.m.

Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC

Richard Martel

In my opinion, hockey culture is changing, as is its regulation. Things are moving forward. I don't think Scott Stevens' check would be legal today. That was a hit you did not see coming. I don't think such checks, which have caused a fair number of concussions, would be allowed today. I think things are improving considerably.

I believe you saw several physicians after your concussion. In your opinion, what is the percentage of concussions that are being treated today, as compared to when you had your first concussions? Can you tell me to what extent things have improved?

6:40 p.m.

As an Individual

Eric Lindros

In terms of improvement.... In terms of treatment, I can't point my finger to treatment that is the light switch. It's the same old.... It's rest. It's controlling your heart rate and functioning without nausea and dizziness as you increase your heart rate. All of that was available in the 1990s. This is why we're so far behind. We haven't gotten to these steps. We haven't come up with anything really clear and new. It's a bit disheartening, to be honest with you.

Awareness has picked up. A lot of great, positive things have come from.... I guess it would be the silver lining of a dark cloud. You have a wonderful player like Sidney Crosby, who had to go through certain situations. Luckily, he came back. He hasn't missed a beat and is doing amazingly well. If it weren't for him having his troubles, or other players going through it, we wouldn't have had the attention that it's gotten.

Our window on this is now. We have to start moving on this now. We've talked and talked about it. We have to come up with a consensus and come up with the three or four major things we're going to do and decide who's going to be in charge of it as things go forward. As the faces in here and the representations of other parts of Canada change and move on, how can we always make sure that we're constantly looking out for the improvements that we want and have the right people in there?

6:40 p.m.

Mr. Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East—Cooksville, Lib.)

The Chair

Thank you, Mr. Lindros.

6:40 p.m.

Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC

Richard Martel

Thank you very much.

6:40 p.m.

Mr. Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East—Cooksville, Lib.)

The Chair

We're moving over to the Liberals now.

Mr. Fisher.

6:45 p.m.

Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, Lib.

Darren Fisher

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

I know how you don't like to talk about yourself, but Mr. Martel has started, so I'd like to continue.

I think about you. I represent Dartmouth—Cole Harbour in Nova Scotia, so of course I think about Crosby quite often. You're both players who missed extended periods of time due to concussions.

Mr. Martel suggested that he thinks—and I kind of agree with him—that some type of change has begun in the culture of hockey. When you were concussed, I felt—rightly or wrongly—that you were rushed back. When Crosby was concussed, I felt—and maybe the fans felt—a level of protection for Sid. It felt like maybe they were concerned he might be rushed back.

6:45 p.m.

As an Individual

Eric Lindros

It's different times. Yes, we learn from looking back, but we're not going to gain anything from this.

I was having a tough time. They sent me to a migraine specialist in Philadelphia. He said I didn't have migraines and I should go to Chicago to see so-and-so. Then it was a matter of.... This was all very new. Sitting out a week for something that you can't see.... It's not a fracture on an X-ray. It's not bruising or swelling somewhere. It's something you can't see. Although you are, for the most part, 90% on, you're not on. You're not there.

6:45 p.m.

Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, Lib.

Darren Fisher

Was there pressure to return?

6:45 p.m.

As an Individual

Eric Lindros

There's pressure to return with everything. Again, I would not look to pro sport as—