For outdoor-safety advocate Richard Kinar, it's a no-brainer to protect the noggins of skiers and snowboarders. But the West Vancouver resident has so far been unable to convince the federal government of this, despite almost five years of lobbying.

Hockey helmets have been covered under hazardous-products legislation for years. This means they can only be sold in Canada if they're approved by the Canadian Standards Association. Playpens, strollers, car seats, and cribs are also covered by this law.

But Kinar, a director of the Brain Injury Association of Canada, told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview that the same isn't true for helmets used by skiers, snowboarders, in-line skaters, skateboarders, or cyclists. And there are no laws requiring these groups, with the exception of cyclists, to don protective headgear.

“The Canadian Standards Association wrote some of the best standards for cycling helmets in the world,” Kinar said. “For children, the CSA standards are brilliant.”

However, Kinar said that consumers would find it very difficult to find a cycling helmet that meets the CSA standard. That's because cycling helmets don't fall under hazardous-products legislation, he said. Therefore, there are no penalties against manufacturers who produce shoddy products.

The CSA, a nonprofit membership-based organization, is currently creating standards for skiing and snowboarding helmets thanks to a $50,000 grant from the B.C. government. Kinar said that the federal government should ensure that it's illegal to sell snowboarding and skiing products that are not CSA–approved.

Kinar said he first became interested in outdoor safety when he was a professional freestyle skier. “Because of my love of skiing, I have always wanted to make the sport safer,” he said. “I have lost three friends in avalanches.”

About a decade ago, this issue struck closer to home when his son had a serious collision on his bicycle. According to Kinar, the young boy crashed into a neighbour's car and totalled his bike.

“If it wasn't for someone taking the time—and the [B.C.] government introducing mandatory laws for cycling helmets—my son most likely would not have had a helmet on his head,” Kinar said. “And he probably would have been one of these statistics.”

A few years later, Kinar said, he read an article in Ski Canada magazine claiming that some helmets for sale in Canada offered no more protection than “putting a bag of milk over your head”. Not long after that, he witnessed a collision between two young snowboarders on Cypress Mountain. One of the kids was knocked out, he recalled, even though he was wearing a helmet and both of them were travelling at a “very, very slow rate of speed”.

That's when Kinar contacted the CSA to find out if the Ski Canada article was accurate. “The vice-president of CSA [John Walter], who is still there to this very day, reiterated that pretty much everything in that article was true,” Kinar said.

He said that most people don't realize how easy it is to become brain-injured, nor do they realize that even an insignificant brain injury can lead to learning and behavioural problems. He pointed out that sports-related head injuries cost Canadian taxpayers more than $100 million each year.

In 2005, a Canadian nonprofit injury- prevention group called SMARTRISK issued a report that stated that injury “kills more youth and young adults than all other causes combined”, and claimed that this area has traditionally been overlooked as a health issue.

In February 2006, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a detailed study on skiing and snowboarding helmets. The study involved surveys of 3,277 skiers and snowboarders who had been injured at eight major Norwegian resorts. There was also a survey of the 2,992 noninjured members of a control group. Of the 3,277 injured skiers, 578 had suffered head injuries. Researchers concluded that helmet use was associated with a 60-percent reduction in head injuries.

Kinar said he had thought it would be simple to persuade the feds to encourage greater use of helmets. He added that he had a “terrific meeting” with one of federal health minister Tony Clement's advisers. But since then, Kinar claimed, Clement's office won't return his phone calls or e-mails.

“The federal government has completely ignored this issue,” Kinar alleged.

He said that if Clement provided a $500,000 grant to the CSA, it could develop an education program and codes for helmets for skateboards, in-line skates, and push scooters, and for a “core standards helmet” that could be used in several sports.

Despite his lack of success in dealing with the Conservatives, Kinar has finally achieved a breakthrough. Vancouver Centre Liberal MP Hedy Fry, a doctor and former president of the British Columbia Medical Association, told the Straight that she plans to bring in a private member's bill to address the issue.

Once the CSA finishes setting standards for snowboarding and skiing helmets, Fry said, she will try to persuade Parliament that such helmets should fall under hazardous-products legislation. If she succeeds, only CSA–approved helmets will be allowed to be sold in Canada.

For Kinar, it would mean the nation's snowboarders and skiers would no longer face the prospect of being left with the equivalent of a bag of milk to protect their brains.