29 Facts About David Onley

David Onley worked primarily for Citytv as a weather reporter, before moving on to cover science and technology stories.

David Charles Onley was born in Midland, Ontario, on June 12,1950.

David Onley was able to get around using leg braces, canes, crutches, and his electric scooter.

David Onley was able to drive a car using hand controls.

David Onley 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.

David Onley then attended the University of Windsor Law School from 1976 to 1977, but did not complete the degree.

Unable to find full-time employment after his graduation, David Onley turned to writing, publishing Shuttle: A Shattering Novel of Disaster in Space, a bestselling novel about space travel, in 1981.

David Onley began hosting a weekly science show for Toronto radio station CFRB, subsequently joining the CKO network in 1983.

David Onley then joined Citytv in 1984 as weather specialist, a position he held until 1989.

David Onley served as education specialist for Citytv from 1994 to 1999.

David Onley became an anchor on Citytv's sister station CP24 upon its launch in 1998, and both hosted and produced Home Page on CP24.

David Onley was one of Canada's first on-air television personalities with a visible disability; he used a mobility device due to his paralysis.

Camera shots began with only upper body shots, but David Onley demanded that the shot include him in his mobility device.

David Onley was appointed Chair of the Accessibility Standards Advisory Council to the Minister of Community and Social Services in 2005.

David Onley was inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame in 2006.

David Onley returned to his acting roots, with a cameo appearance in the sixth season of the Canadian TV series Murdoch Mysteries.

David Onley served as founding president of the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada.

David Onley was sworn in on September 5,2007, at Queen's Park in Toronto.

David Onley 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.

David Onley travelled to China to represent the Queen and Canada at the 2008 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony.

David 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.

David Onley was appointed senior lecturer in the Department of Political Sciences at University of Toronto Scarborough, his alma mater.

David Onley served as the university's special ambassador for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games.

In 2018, David Onley was appointed to review the act and conducted public consultations on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

David Onley conducted extensive consultations, and delivered a written Legislative Review of the AODA in 2019, available online.

David Onley was married to Ruth Ann, a Christian music performer.

In late 2019, David Onley received emergency medical treatment after a brain scan revealed that he had a tumour the size of an orange at the front of his brain, which was successfully removed.

David Onley died at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto on January 14,2023, aged 72.

David Onley is survived by his wife and three children.