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GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS NEED FOR HELMET SAFETY
STANDARDS |
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VICTORIA – The government will contribute $50,000 to the Canadian Standards Association, Canada’s leading developer of standards and codes, to support the development of safety standards for sport helmets such as those used for snowboarding, inline skating and skiing, said Minister of Small Business and Economic Development John Les.
“We know that helmets reduce the risk of injury in sports such as skiing, skateboarding and inline skating,” said Les. “In our February budge we made all safety helmets exempt from PST. Now we want to ensure that the helmets people use meet minimum safety requirements. We hope the federal government and other provincial governments will follow our lead to not only fund the safety standards development but a national helmet use campaign.”
There are currently no minimum standards for
snowboarding, inline skate, ski or skateboarding helmets. While some helmets have international
standards, there is no assurance in Canada that sport helmets meet these
standards or any criteria for safety.
“This significant funding
demonstrates B.C.’s leadership in recognizing the need to develop new helmet
standards for multiple sporting activities,” said John Walter, vice president,
standards development, Canadian Standards Association. “These new standards
will play a role in the health and wellbeing of all Canadian citizens, as they
will be designed to prevent serious head injuries and will enable the
development of multi-purpose helmets. We hope that more people will be
encouraged to purchase a helmet if it can be used for more than one sport.”
This funding supports the government’s strategy to help prevent and reduce sport injuries. Developing core safety standards for sport helmets will help reduce the need for a separate helmet for each sport activity.
“I
really believe this will have a lasting legacy for Canadians by changing the
way helmets are bought and sold in Canada,” said Richard Kinar, helmet safety
standards advocate. “By taking the lead
on funding this strategy, B.C. is looking at personal health with a much more
progressive attitude. This way of thinking looks at injury prevention and
promoting physical activity as some of the best ways to save health care
dollars.”
As
of Feb. 16, 2005, all safety helmets used for sport, recreation and
transportation are now exempt from provincial sales tax in B.C. This includes,
for example, bicycle and motorcycle helmets, horse riding helmets, boxing
helmets, skateboard helmets, snowboard helmets, hockey helmets and football
helmets. Previously, the exemption applied only to bicycle helmets, motorcycle
helmets and work-related safety helmets, such as hard hats and adult
professional sports helmets.
The Canadian Standards Association is a solutions-oriented organization, which has developed more than 2,600 standards, codes and related products that make a real difference in people’s lives and businesses.
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Communications Director Ministry of Small Business and Economic Development 250 356-9428 |
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Visit the Province's website at www.gov.bc.ca for online information and services. |
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