Brain injuries studied

Focus on sports and concussions

Marie Malavoy, Quebec’s education, sports and leisure minister, has created a work study group to tackle the issue of concussions in sports and recreation activities.

The group’s mandate will be to examine the situation and find ways to improve safety in sport and the subsequent prevention of brain injuries.

Brain injury and concussions are a big problem for public health, Malavoy said, in announcing this initiative on Friday, particularly in children and young adults.

The group includes members of the legal, medical and sports fields:

Lawyer Lynda Durand, neurology researcher David Ellemberg with Ste-Justine Children’s Hospital, neuroscience medical doctor David Tinjust, former Alouette Matthieu Proulx and former soccer star Luce Mongrain.

The group has been given six months to study the matter and then file a report to Malavoy with its findings.

“I have assembled this group of experts on the realities of sports, medicine and the law,” Malavoy said. “They will be independent of any current programs established to deal with brain injuries in sport ... in particular as concerns the young athletes, who are very vulnerable in the face of this phenomenon.”

The ministry has already implemented several programs, notably working with ski centres to promote the use of helmets for skiers under 12 years of age, as well as working the Amateur Football Federation of Quebec to ensure that proper equipment is used on the field.