Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  Thanks so much.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  Certainly. Rowan's Law is continuing to be developed in terms of exactly how it's going to be implemented across Ontario. Its predecessor, Policy/Program Memorandum No. 158, is currently being implemented across schools. It's focused on the school setting across Ontario—public and Catholic schools, elementary and secondary schools—and through that I think we can have a very good uptake of harmonized guidelines, such as those of Parachute.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  Our vision is indeed to see something like that rolled out across the country in each province and territory.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  We'll start by saying that it's also people like you who are part of the solution—look at where you are now, on the subcommittee—so thank you. To get to the general public, going through schools and sports organizations is a little more clear because there's an organization and there are standards and structure in how to communicate with them.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  Smoking is one that comes to mind, for sure. It's not an injury, but it is related to public health. Wearing a seat belt is another one that comes to mind. There was policy on bike helmets, as well, on the east coast, if I'm correct. I'm not an expert in that area. I think there are policies, strategies and conversations that have been had in Canada previously that we can look to for motivation and hope, to see that change can be made and is possible.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  Just to reiterate, there's no need to reinvent the wheel. There are organizations that already reach the public and are already recognized. People already go there. These organizations already have an audience, so, as we were mentioning earlier, the federal government may have partnerships not just with the provincial and territorial sport organizations, but also with science communication organizations that already reach the target audiences that it is looking to reach with policy.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  Generally, what's been developed over the years, as you probably recognized, by the international sport and concussion group is the graduated return to activity. It's return to play, because it's in the context of sport, but that is the typical idea now for a graduated return to whatever it is that you were doing.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  We don't know about male versus female.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  Typically that is the case.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  Oh, okay. Yes.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  Yes.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  But that's why. That change—almost more than doubling—can potentially be attributed to a heightened awareness. We're reporting more now. We're seeing a lot more reporting—

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  This is very encouraging, but we do know there's a lot still falling through the cracks, so there's more work to be done.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  They feel invincible.

Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada committee  There are other reasons that people don't report their concussions. For example, say you're talking about a student athlete—and this has been shown in some of the literature—they don't want to make their coach or their parents upset; they don't want to lose the opportunity for a scholarship.