Bill C-319

1st Session, 41st Parliament,

60 Elizabeth II, 2011

house of commons of canada

BILL C-319

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

Whereas sport is a cultural institution that merits protection and support from the Government of Canada;

Whereas recent medical research has demonstrated the pervasiveness of serious injury in amateur sport;

Whereas many sports injuries are preventable through the effective dissemination of appropriate information;

Whereas a concerted effort by committed communities, governments and organizations across Canada can make a tangible difference in preventing deaths and serious injuries that result from participation in amateur sport and athletics;

Whereas injuries in amateur sport are a significant public health issue and it is important to reduce the incidence of such injuries and their impact on Canadians, particularly the long-term individual and societal impacts that can result from serious sports injuries;

Whereas cerebral concussions have demonstrated cumulative and long-lasting effects on memory, judgement, social conduct, reflexes, speech, balance and coordination;

Whereas it is in the interest of all Canadians that a national strategy to reduce the incidence of injury in amateur sport be developed and implemented with a view to changing the existing attitudes of Canadians towards sports injuries, mobilizing individuals and organizations and fostering further policy development in this area;

And whereas the Government of Canada, in consultation with the ministers responsible for health care and sport in each province and territory, wishes to encourage the development of a national strategy to reduce the incidence of injury in amateur sport;

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the National Strategy for Serious Injury Reduction in Amateur Sport Act.

INTERPRETATION

2. The following definitions apply in this Act.

“Minister” means the Minister of Health.

“national strategy” means a national strategy to reduce the incidence of serious injury in amateur sport.

“provincial and territorial ministers” means the provincial and territorial ministers responsible for health and the provincial and territorial ministers responsible for sport.

NATIONAL STRATEGY

3. The Minister and the Minister of State (Sport) must, within six months after this Act comes into force, convene a conference with provincial and territorial ministers and representatives of the athletic and medical communities for the purpose of developing a national strategy that includes

(a) the establishment of a national medical surveillance program to properly track incidence rates and the associated economic costs of injuries in amateur sport;

(b) the establishment of guidelines regarding the prevention, identification, treatment and management of cerebral concussions in amateur athletes, including the criteria that must be met before amateur athletes are permitted to return to play after suffering a cerebral concussion;

(c) the preparation of a submission to the Minister of Justice proposing an amendment to the Criminal Code that would make it an offence for a coach or any other person in a position of authority to knowingly permit a participant to return to play without meeting the criteria specified under the guidelines referred to in paragraph (b);

(d) the establishment of national standards for the training of coaches and other persons involved in amateur sport with respect to the health and safety of participants; and

(e) the creation of a comprehensive standard- ized educational program for coaches and other persons involved in amateur sport that is designed to enhance participant safety at all levels of amateur sport.

4. The Minister must prepare a report setting out the national strategy and publish it on the departmental website within one year after the conclusion of the conference referred to in section 3.

5. The Minister must cause a copy of the report referred to in section 4 to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first 90 days on which that House is sitting after the report has been published on the departmental website.

6. The Minister of Finance may, on the advice of the Minister, establish guidelines regarding the allocation of funding, for the purpose of implementing the national strategy, to provincial and territorial governments that have enacted legislation to implement that strategy and have met the criteria prescribed by regulation.

REVIEW AND REPORT

7. The Government of Canada must

(a) complete a review of the effectiveness of the national strategy no later than five years after the day on which the report referred to in section 4 is published on the departmental website; and

(b) table a report on its findings before each House of Parliament within the next ten sitting days after the review is completed.

REGULATIONS

8. The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.