Anti-concussion legislation coming to Ontario

By Sarah O. Swenson

In a move introduced last week, Ontario is set to become the first province to require schools to institute concussion prevention and management policies.

This new legislation will require that schools train and educate staff and parents on the seriousness and management of concussions, as well as form committees to advise on concussion prevention, identification, and management.

“Concussions don’t discriminate,” said Laurel Broten, Ontario’s Minister of Education, as she introduced the bill to the Ontario legislature. “They can derail the professional career of the best hockey player in the world just as easily as they can derail the academic career of one of our youngest learners.”

Concussions have been an issue in sport for quite some time, but only since Canada’s Olympic hockey hero, Sidney Crosby was sidelined, did people begin to really take notice.

From 2010 to 2011, nearly 20,000 Ontarians were treated in emergency rooms for concussions, with children making up 38 per cent of those visits.

“Like anything this serious, we don’t take it lightly,” said Jim Buck, Loyalist College’s director of athletics. “We’re doing the best we can, trying to address any concerns.”

The Ontario Colleges Athletics Association is currently forming a committee to address the concussion issue and form a universal protocol.

“But the hard part will be implementing these recommendations,” said Buck.

Loyalist itself is currently investigating the possibility of implementing concussion baseline testing, something the Belleville Minor Hockey Association has made mandatory since last year. These tests, completed online, provide detailed clinical reports which will be used later by doctors as a comparison point when trying to assess if an athlete has recovered from an injury.

Although Ontario may be the first province to place the onus on schools, in November 2011, British Columbia proposed similar legislation, the Concussions in Youth Safety Act. This private member’s bill requires all youth sports organizations to develop awareness and management policies, have athletes maintain a concussion and head injury information sheet, and demands clearance from a health care professional before a return to play.

The B.C. bill is more broad in its scope, not limiting itself to students, but does not address the need for young athletes to return to their studies, not just their athletics.

“If head injuries like concussions are identified early and enough time is given for kids to recover, we can make sure that our students succeed in school athletics and, most importantly, succeed in the classroom,” said Broten to the legislative assembly.

While these measures are fairly new to Canada, the majority of the United States has already tackled the issue head on. The earliest adopter was Washington, passing its legislation in April 2009. By the end of 2011, more than 36 states had passed some form of concussion law and there are currently 10 more states with legislation pending.