July 15, 2020

OTTAWA—As part of the innovative series highlighting exceptional Canadians across diverse areas of interest, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, will host a virtual discussion entitled “The Pandemic and Persons with Disabilities: What Canadians Should Know.” Two sessions will be held on Thursday, July 16, 2020, beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT. The discussion will be divided into two 30-minute sessions and made accessible to the public on www.gg.ca.

The first session, beginning at 1:30 p.m., will be in English. The guests will be Benoît Huot, C.M., Canadian Paralympic champion and sports broadcaster; Al Etmanski, C.M., M.S.M., author, blogger, community organizer, social entrepreneur and former co-chair of the COVID-19 Disability Advisory Group; and Barbara MacDougall, freelance musician.

The second session, beginning at 2:30 p.m., will be in French. Benoît Huot will also participate in the French session and will be joined by Paul-Claude Bérubé, Chair, Board of Directors, Accessibility Standards Canada; Jocelyne Pasquier, Occupational Health and Safety Advisor, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and former DanceSport world champion; and Ingrid Carey, writer.

The conversations will focus on the particular impacts the pandemic has had on persons with disabilities.

Should you have a question for the Governor General or her guests, we invite you to submit it via the Governor General’s Facebook page @GGJuliePayette. Questions may also be sent in advance by e-mail to RSVP2@gg.ca.

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The live stream will be available in English at https://www.gg.ca/en/ggconversations

The live stream will be available in French at https://www.gg.ca/fr/ggconversations

Media information:

Ashlee Smith
Press Secretary to the Governor General
343-548-1857
ashlee.smith@gg.ca

Follow GGJuliePayette on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.