Because it’s 2016: Minister of Sport & Persons with Disabilities

Hon. Carla Qualtrough

Canada's Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, Carla Qualtrough, will speak to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on April 6 about her new federal mandate and how the business community can play a supporting role in the lead-up to Canada's 150^th anniversary.

Qualtrough, the new Member of Parliament from Delta, B.C., was appointed Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities following the last federal election. Given her personal history and experience as a Paralympic athlete living with a visual impairment, this was a welcome appointment for many in Canada's sports and disability communities.

In recent years, our country has been fortunate to host a number of international sporting events, including the World Junior Hockey Championships, Ford Men's World Curling Championships, FIFA Women's World Cup, and Toronto 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games.

On the road to Canada's 150th anniversary in 2017, Minister Qualtrough's mandate is an active and wide-ranging one including:

Delivery of a Canadians with a Disability Act
Supporting our Canadian athletes in their relentless pursuit of the podium whenever and wherever they compete including at this summer's Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Supporting the effort to renew Canada's recreation and sport infrastructure in large and small communities across the country
Working with her colleague, Minister of Health, to deliver a national strategy for concussion awareness to ensure there is a responsible pan-Canadian approach to dealing with this highly prevalent type of brain injury

Don't miss this chance to hear from Minister Qualtrough about how the federal government plans to meet these challenges and strengthen Canada's sport and disability communities over the next four years.

About the Speaker

Ms. Qualtrough is a Paralympian, human rights lawyer, dedicated volunteer, proud mother of four, and Canada's Minister for Sport and Persons with Disabilities.

Committed to equity and inclusion, Carla has practiced human rights law at the federal and provincial levels. She chaired the Minister's Council on Employment and Accessibility in British Columbia, and was an adjudicator with the Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal. Carla has been visually impaired since birth.

Passionate about the power of sport and physical activity to change lives, Carla has volunteered locally, nationally, and internationally, including with the International Paralympic Committee and for the Toronto 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games. She has been President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Chair of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada. Carla was on the Board of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, and was Vice-Chair of the Delta Gymnastics Society. As an athlete, Carla won three Paralympic and four World Championship medals.

Carla has degrees in political science from the University of Ottawa and law from the University of Victoria. Among many awards for her work, she has been named one of Canada's Most Influential Women in Sport six times, and received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.