David Onley

David Charles Onley was born in Midland, Ontario, on June 12, 1950. Beginning at the age of three, he battled with polio, resulting in partial paralysis. In order to facilitate medical treatment, the family moved to Scarborough (now part of Toronto), settling on Orchard Park Drive in the neighbourhood of West Hill. Onley was able to get around using leg braces, canes, crutches, and his electric scooter. He was able to drive a car using hand controls. He was educated at the University of Toronto Scarborough, served as student council president, and graduated in 1975 with an honours Bachelor of Arts degree and specialist certificate in political science. He then attended the University of Windsor Law School from 1976 to 1977, but did not complete the degree. ==Career==

Unable to find full-time employment after his graduation, Onley turned to writing, publishing Shuttle: A Shattering Novel of Disaster in Space, a bestselling novel about space travel, in 1981. He was inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame in 2006. Onley returned to his acting roots, with a cameo appearance in the sixth season of the Canadian TV series Murdoch Mysteries. The episode, "The Ghost of Queens Park" aired in Canada on February 25, 2013. In it he played the eighth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Sir Oliver Mowat. In the 2023 episode "An Avoidable Hinder"(S16 Ep16) the end credits began with "In Memory of our Friend David Onley Former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario". He also served as founding president of the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada. ==As Lieutenant Governor==

holds audience with Lieutenant Governor of Ontario David C. Onley at Buckingham Palace, 2008 Onley's appointment as Lieutenant Governor was announced on July 10, 2007; he was privately informed of this after a July 4, 2007, taping of Home Page: "I just had reached the top of the Don Valley Parkway... and there was no place to pull over. And when the Prime Minister of your country calls, all you can try to do is stay in the same lane, avoid any fender-benders and have a meaningful conversation, which I did." He was sworn in on September 5, 2007, at Queen's Park in Toronto. As the province's first Lieutenant Governor with a disability, Onley said he would use his vice-regal position to help remove physical barriers to Ontario's 1.5 million people with disabilities, as well as focus on other issues affecting disabled people, including obstacles to employment and housing. Onley also stated, in his installation speech, that he would expand on his immediate predecessor James Bartleman's First Nations literacy initiatives, his aim being to see computers on every student's desk in northern schools. For his installation, Onley approached the legislature on his electric scooter, however he ascended the Throne on foot, using leg braces and canes. During Onley's mandate, he participated in 2550 engagements, during which he spoke to an estimated audience of over one million people. He travelled to China to represent the Queen and Canada at the 2008 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony. Onley delivered his last speech from the throne to the Ontario Legislative Assembly on July 3, 2014; his last full day in office was September 22, 2014, with his successor sworn in the following afternoon. Onley and his wife resided in their Scarborough home during his vice-regal tenure, as Ontario is one of three provinces that does not have an official vice-regal residence. ==Post-viceregal life==

Onley was appointed senior lecturer in the Department of Political Sciences at University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), his alma mater. His appointment began on October 1, 2014. At UTSC he also served as special advisor on disability issues, encouraging the development of new initiatives including the founding of the Centre for Global Disability Studies. He also served as the university's special ambassador for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. In 2018, Onley was appointed to review the act and conducted public consultations on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Onley conducted extensive consultations, and delivered a written Legislative Review of the AODA in 2019, available online. In the report, Onley raises concerns that based on consultations with disabled citizens and their family members, the province is not on track to meet 2025 AODA goals. The report offers concrete recommendations for improved implementation of the AODA, including calls to address the intersection of disability and poverty, and the need to take an "all-of-government approach by making accessibility the responsibility of every ministry" and clarify the relationship of the AODA to the Ontario Human Rights Code. ==Personal life and death==

Onley was married to Ruth Ann, a Christian music performer. They have three sons, Jonathan, Robert and Michael. Onley died at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto on January 14, 2023, aged 72. He is survived by his wife and three children. He was accorded an Ontario state funeral; following two days of lying in state at the Ontario Legislative Building, his funeral was held on January 30 at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Those in attendance included his successor Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell and Ontario Premier Doug Ford. He is interred at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto. ==Honours and awards==

Ribbon bars Other distinctions • He served as Colonel of the Regiment of The Queen's York Rangers in his capacity of Lieutenant Governor. • He was the Honorary Colonel of 25 Field Ambulance in a personal capacity. • Midland has a David Onley Park, dedicated on his 63rd birthday (June 12, 2013). Coat of arms {{Infobox COA wide ==Bibliography==