January 2011 - Posts

• Canada's New Road Safety Strategy

  OTTAWA, Jan. 26 /CNW/ - The Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety have approved a new five-year Road Safety Strategy under which Canada will continue to strive to have the safest roads in the world. The strategy will be used by individual jurisdictions to develop federal/provincial/territorial action plans to address key highway safety concerns and priorities for their respective and unique situations. Road Safety Strategy 2015 will carry on the progress that has been achieved in reducing fatalities and serious injuries on Canada's roads since 1996 when Canada's first road safety plan was introduced. The provisional fatality total for 2009 is 8.7% lower than the number of road users killed in traffic crashes during 2008 and represents a 25.1% reduction over the 1996-2001 baseline figure. This is the lowest death toll on record in Canada in more than 60 years. The new Road Safety Strategy is the result of a broad collaborative effort between all levels of government, public and private road safety stakeholders and the enforcement community. It provides each province and territory with a wide variety of solutions to address key road safety risks - initiatives that are focused on road users, the vehicles they use and the roadway infrastructure on which they operate. The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) will lead the implementation of the strategy and support stakeholders in the process. "This strategy represents Canada's desire to be a leader in road safety," said Chuck Strahl, the Federal Minister of Transport and Co-Chair of the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety. "It highlights our ambition to have the best possible road safety outcomes for Canada." "The number of road fatalities and serious injuries is declining nationwide," said Luke Ouellette, Minister of Transportation of Alberta and Co-Chair of the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety. "These results are encouraging and we look forward to continued improvement over the next five years." The unveiling of Road Safety Strategy 2015 coincides with the National Year of Road Safety in 2011, an ambitious undertaking which aims to raise public awareness and promote road safety activities nationwide. The Canadian Global Road Safety Committee, whose membership is made up of injury prevention and road safety professionals, is leading this initiative. It is expected that Road Safety Strategy 2015 will continue to inspire all Canadians to work together toward the common objective of making Canada's roads the safest in the world. Road Safety Strategy 2015 will be officially launched at CCMTA's 2011 Annual Meeting, to be held May 15-19, 2011, in Victoria, B.C. ROAD SAFETY STRATEGY 2015 - BACKGROUNDER http://ccmta.ca/english/pdf/RSS_2015_Backgrounder.pdf CCMTA is a non-profit organization comprising representatives of the provincial, territorial and federal governments of Canada which makes decisions on administrative and operational matters dealing with licensing, registration and control of motor vehicle transportation and highway safety. It also comprises associate members whose expertise and opinions are sought in the development of strategies and programs. For further information: please visit www.roadsafetystrategy.ca or contact Valerie Todd, Programs Manager, CCMTA, tel.: (613) 736-1003 x 251; email: vtodd@ccmta.ca Posted Jan 31 2011, 07:25 AM by Jennifer Heatley with no comments

• Government of Canada's child health and safety campaign

  What’s the healthiest diet for your child? Is the car seat you bought right for your vehicle?  How important are vaccinations in protecting children from disease? Now you can access a wide range of dependable, up-to-date information on all kinds of topics in one place at: www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/kids/.  A Government of Canada web site that features key information from Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Transport Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and Public Safety Canada. You will find information about toy safety, injury prevention, nutrition and care of infants, as well as the latest recalls and safety alerts. In addition to the website, tools such as a customized interactive booklet and a Facebook page are also available. Visit the website regularly for news, information and advice about health and safety topics for your family! Posted Jan 31 2011, 07:24 AM by Jennifer Heatley with no comments

• WHO's Executive Board adopts resolution on child injury prevention

  During its 128th Session, the World Health Organization's Executive Board discussed a draft resolution on child injury prevention. Member States expressed strong support for the resolution, and the inclusion of child injury prevention within the child survival agenda. There were many strong statements of support from members of the Executive Board. Included amongst these were statements from China and the United States, which both made reference to the fact that it will be difficult to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4 to reduce child mortality in some countries without addressing child injury. Seychelles, speaking on behalf of the countries of the WHO African Region, added that investments and efforts made in immunization programmes and other infectious disease programming stand to be undone if children are to die a few short years later from injury. These three statements are illustrative only; globally the entire discussion was very supportive. Following a number of proposed amendments - many of which either directly strengthened the resolution or made it more comprehensive - the resolution was adopted by the Executive Board on 24 January 2011. The resolution will now pass to the next session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May 2011 with the recommendation that it be adopted by the WHA. The resolution may be further amended during the WHA, but currently calls for Member States to: prioritize the prevention of child injury and ensure necessary intersectoral coordination mechanisms are established or strengthened; ensure funding mechanisms for public health programmes for child survival or child health cover child injury prevention; and implement as appropriate the recommendations of the WHO/UNICEF World report on child injury prevention, among others. The resolution also requests the Director-General of the World Health Organization to: collaborate with United Nations organizations, international development partners and NGOs to establish a mechanism for communication and coordination of child injury; facilitate the adaptation of child injury prevention interventions from developed to developing settings; and support capacity building, data collection, and emergency care within Member States, among other initiatives. For further information, please contact Dr David Meddings (meddingsd@who.int).   Posted Jan 31 2011, 07:21 AM by Jennifer Heatley with no comments

• 2011 Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention Conference - Call for Abstracts

  The Vancouver CASP Conference Planning Committee is honoured to host the 2011 Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention Conference – NEW CONVERSATIONS ON SUICIDALITY – on the shores of English Bay in beautiful Vancouver, BC, October 3-5, 2011. Join with people from across the country interested in exploring, expanding and building upon the spectrum of what is known about suicide; prevention, intervention, postvention and research. The intention of this conference is to generate inclusive dialogue and stimulate new conversations on all aspects of suicidality. We are curious about conversations that explore such matters as: Deepening our understanding of cultural issues related to suicidality including exploration of diverse forms of culture, cultural competence, and cultural safety Innovative approaches to capacity building across the spectrum of care including family-centered approaches, shared care and collaborative practice models, crisis response, community follow-up and after care Spotlighting new and promising practices and strength-based approaches in workplaces, institutions and/or community settings Moving through crisis response and risk reduction helping to build lives worth living Impacts of the CASP Blueprint, various provincial strategies and the work of The Mental Health Commission of Canada on suicide prevention The deadline to submit abstracts is February 28, 2011. Please visit: http://www.casp2011.ca/Call_For_Abstracts.html for more information. Posted Jan 31 2011, 07:17 AM by Jennifer Heatley with no comments