Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor was a journalist, disability advocate, and novelist
Editor – Post polio syndrome will affect almost 70% of people who survived childhood polio. It is not a new infection. It’s a weakening of the body’s motor neurons, the nerves that control muscles, and the muscles themselves. It is the disability of David Onley Ontario’s new Lieutenant Governor.
The following biography is from the University of Toronto’s 2007 Convocation
David Onley is a bestselling novelist, the founding president of the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada and a well-known Toronto television personality.
In 1975, Onley graduated from the University of Toronto Scarborough with a political science degree and subsequently attended law school for a year. After losing interest in a legal career, Onley conceived the idea of writing a novel about space exploration and the Shuttle Program. His book, Shuttle: A Shattering Novel of Disaster in Space, was released in 1982 and became a bestseller.
Onley used the knowledge he acquired researching and writing his book to become one of Canada’s most well-known observers of NASA’s space programs, and made frequent radio and television appearances. He then began hosting a weekly science and technology show on Toronto radio station CFRB and, in 1984, Onley joined CITY-TV as a science and weather specialist. Today, Onley appears on both CITY-TV and CablePulse 24 as a science and technology specialist, news anchor and host.
David Onley is also an individual with renowned determination and vision who, after battling both polio and post-polio symptoms, refused to accept his physical disability as a liability. He is one of the first people in Canada with a disability to achieve an on-air position in television broadcasting. As well, Onley has contributed extensively to causes supporting and improving the lives of people with physical disabilities.
In 1997, Onley was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame for his ongoing contributions to causes that help people with disabilities. In 1996 he was awarded the Clarke Institute’s Courage to Come Back award and later was inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame and in 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law Degree from Canada Christian College.
Onley is actively involved in the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons, the Ontario March of Dimes and various church and community organizations. In December 2005, the Ontario government appointed Onley Chair of the province’s Accessibility Standards Advisory Council.
Feature imaged University of Toronto, 2009
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