Injury is the leading cause of death for Canadians ages one to 44. The human and societal potential lost through injury is immense.
In 2018, injuries stole 333,791 years of potential life lived, of missed celebrations, milestones, family memories, and contributions through work and volunteering.
The total cost of injuries, $29.4 billion, equals a cost of $80 million to the Canadian economy every day. The total direct cost of $20.4 billion translates to an average of $56 million spent per day in the Canadian health-care system that has the potential to be allocated to other needs in the system, for example, fewer critical-care hospital beds occupied as a result of injuries.
The fact is, almost all these injuries and deaths, and the resulting costs, could have been prevented. We must take action to create a different story of a Canada free from serious injuries and deaths.
We need to invest in advocacy to ensure that our laws, the spaces and places where we live, play, work and travel, and the products we use are all built to standards that minimize injury.
We need to invest in preventative measures that we know work to reduce or eliminate injury, and educate people about their effectiveness to ensure these are widely adopted.
And we need to invest in research to grow our evidence of what is effective so we can stem Canada's tragic loss of potential by preventing injuries and saving lives in the years to come.
