State funeral for former Lt.-Gov. David Onley set for Monday

The state funeral for Former Ontario Lt.-Gov. David Onley has been scheduled for next week.

Morley Bedford Funeral Services says Onley will lie in state at the legislature on Saturday and Sunday. A state funeral will then be held at a church in Toronto on Monday.

The current lieutenant-governor announced Onley’s death last Saturday, saying he used his status as the province’s first lieutenant-governor with a physical disability to raise awareness of and help break down barriers facing other residents with disabilities.

Throughout his life, Onley used a motorized scooter after contracting polio as a child. He often drew on his lived experience when discussing existing accessibility barriers in society.

Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell says his efforts to draw attention to such issues could be traced back to his years as a television reporter as well.

Onley died at the age of 72. He was appointed lieutenant-governor in 2007 and remained in the position for seven years.