As reported in our June 2016 Charity & NFP Law Update, Canada’s first concussion protocol legislation for young athletes was passed in Ontario when Bill 149, Rowan’s Law Advisory Committee Act (“Rowan’s Law”) received royal assent on June 9, 2016. In September 2017, the Rowan’s Law Advisory Committee (the “Committee”), which was established to provide recommendations based on the jury’s findings and recommendations from the inquest into the death of Rowan Stringer, released the Report of the Rowan’s Law Advisory Committee (the “Report”) concerning concussion prevention and treatment which it was required to submit to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
In developing the Report, the Committee reviewed Canadian and foreign concussion legislation and policy frameworks, monitored federal initiatives and maintained linkages with the Federal-Provincial/Territorial (F-P/T) work on concussions. In this regard, the Report states that there is no common approach in Canada for addressing concussions, and outlines steps that various provinces and the federal government have taken both in legislation and through policy concerning concussion management.
The Committee also reviewed the coroner’s jury recommendations and developed 21 recommended action items (“Action Items”) to ensure implementation of all of the jury’s recommendations. These Action Items are divided into five themes, discussing (1) surveillance of concussions and concussion policy; (2) prevention of concussions; (3) detection and identifying concussions; (4) Management of concussion data and assessment of responses to concussions; and (5) raising awareness to bring about a culture change towards concussion in amateur sports. Of particular note, the Report proposes one overarching recommended Action Items for Ontario to develop legislation that would cross all five themes, with the other Action Items acting as enablers of the law.
While the Report itself does not immediately change the state of the legislation, charities and not-for-profits that provide services for children and sports programs may be interested in the recommended Action Items, and should monitor any legislative developments to implement the Action Items in order to maintain compliance with current and developing concussion policy and legislation. Charities and not-for-profits, particularly with the development of more onerous legislative provisions and developing case law, should be seeking professional advice to manage the considerable risk which is now inherent in being involved (even in a tangential way) with children or vulnerable people more broadly.