Thank you very much, Mr. Allison.
I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Jane Arkell. I'm the executive director of the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability. With me today is my colleague Jason Dunkerley. Jason runs a community program out of our office. He is a Paralympic medallist, so we have fame in our room.
I'll tell you a little bit about our organization. The Active Living Alliance has been in existence for 20 years. We're dedicated to the wellness of Canadians with all disabilities through physical activities, sport, and healthy living.
We recognize that it's more important for someone with a disability to be physically active than it is for someone without one, for a variety of reasons: it helps with isolation, it reduces secondary disabling conditions, it increases self-esteem, and it gets people out and active and making friends.
I'd like Jason to talk a little about his own personal experience and why he feels it has positive links to poverty.