"Torch relay for accessibility will live on," says Lieutenant Governor David
Onley

- LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR ADDRESSES ACCESSIBILITY SHOWCASE IN VANCOUVER -

TORONTO, March 9 /CNW/ - The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, will be the keynote speaker at the 2010 Accessibility Showcase in Vancouver, on March 9, 2010. His remarks will include:

    
     "I believe that the Paralympics have played, and continue to play, an
     important role in encouraging our society to do a major rethink about
     disability."

     "(Paralympians) are not disabled people who are gifted athletes but
     instead are gifted athletes who happen to have a disability."

     "For many people with disabilities, life is still a day to day battle
     for acceptance, for employment, and for full civil rights."
    

The Government of Canada and its partners - the Province of British Columbia, 2010 Legacies Now, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability - is hosting the three day conference.

The event will bring together representatives from the disability, sport and other not-for-profit organizations, various levels of government, and the private sector to discuss and share innovations and best practices around accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities.

    
    "All of us are in a relay carrying the torch of accessibility,
              the torch of integration, the torch of equality,"
                     concluded the Lieutenant Governor.

      * Complete transcripts of this speech can be provided upon request.
    

For further information: Nanda Casucci-Byrne, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, [phone], www.lt.gov.on.ca