On June 12, 2024, the House of Commons voted unanimously in favour of Bill C-277, an Act to establish a national strategy on traumatic brain injuries. The Bill has now been referred to the Standing Committee on Health. This was an incredible moment for the brain injury community as brain injury has never had this level of focus in the House of Commons. But the work is just getting started and we have a few more big hurdles before this becomes law!
The House of Commons and Committee will resume in September 2024. Our goal is to impress upon the Standing Committee on Health the demonstrably strong cross-Canadian support for a National Strategy, through letters and written briefs from individuals and organizations. This is an important and long-overlooked need on behalf of Canadians living with brain injury and this is our chance to make ourselves heard. You can help by submitting a letter or brief sharing your perspective of why a national strategy is needed and how it will improve the lives of individuals and families living with the effects of brain injury.
Check out the following links to read more and submit a letter:
- You can read Bill C-277 on the Parliament of Canada website
- You can read more about living with a traumatic brain injury and the need for a national strategy in this excellent article Living with traumatic brain injury: Proposed legislation supports nationwide strategy for care from The Conversation
- A step-by-step guide on how to write a letter is available on the Brain Injury Canada website
