Hello. I’m David Onley.

As the Queen’s representative in the Province of Ontario it is my pleasure to introduce you to “How May I Help You?” – a video about accessibility in schools across the province.

Before becoming Lieutenant Governor, I had the privilege of chairing the Accessibility Standards Advisory Council of Ontario. As such, I advised the Minister on the most effective ways of implementing the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and I received reports from the various working committees.

In my installation address of September 5, 2007, I chose accessibility as the over-arching theme of my mandate. I have defined accessibility as that which enables people to achieve their full potential and thus play a meaningful role in the life of this province.

But to achieve true inclusion, attitudes towards people with disabilities must change, attitudes often based on myths and misperceptions. When you meet someone with a disability for the first time what do you see? The disability, or the ability within?

We’d all like to say the ability. But we all know it’s not true. We see the disability. And there’s nothing wrong with that—as long as we don’t allow that first impression to then become a value judgment about the person’s inherent ability.

As educators you play a pivotal role by influencing and shaping the lives of young people. Often times you may be the only role models outside of immediate family, making your approach to accessibility all the more important.

I hope this video will reinforce the meaningful ways in which everyone benefits from a more accessible environment.

Thank you for taking part in this training session. As you will see, accessibility enables everyone to achieve their full potential. Thank you.