The 3rd Annual Zoomer List: Canada’s Top 45 Over 45: David Onley

David Onley, 62 Ontario’s Lieutenant-Governor

Having lived with polio and post-polio syndrome since the age of three, he has always been an advocate for people with disabilities. As a news anchor, science and technology specialist, and weatherman for Citytv, he was Canada’s first senior newscaster with a visible disability. During his installation as lieutenant-governor in 2007, he declared that he was adopting accessibility as the overarching theme for his term. This year, he received the Canadian Helen Keller Centre Award for his outstanding contributions in helping remove barriers for people with physical disabilities. “I wish to continue to raise awareness about accessibility for people with disabilities and the importance to the economy of lowering the unacceptably high level of unemployment for disabled people. Much of this is based on employers’ misperceptions and belief in negative myths about hiring people with disabilities.”