Carla Qualtrough, President, Canadian Paralympic Committee

SPIRIT OF SUCCESS
As elected President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Director of Sport Initiatives for 2010 Legacies Now, Carla Qualtrough is the driving force in building Canada’s Paralympic spirit in advance of Canada’s first ever Paralympic Winter Games. A Vancouver based human rights lawyer, Carla is no stranger to advancing social policy objectives, particularly as they relate to marginalized and disadvantaged people and sport policy. A Paralympic swimmer, Carla has been named as one of the Most Influential Women in Sport in Canada for the past three years and is an active member of a number of international and national committees including: the Canadian Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Canada, and the International Paralympic Committee. Carla was instrumental in Toronto’s successful bid for the Toronto 2015 Pan and Para-pan American Games and serves on the Board of Directors for the Organising Committee. Ms. Qualtrough comes from a unique background in the areas of human rights law and sport policy. She has acted as legal counsel for both the BC Human Rights Tribunal and the Canadian Human Rights Commission. On the sport policy side, she has been in senior advisory roles to the Parliamentary Secretary (Sport) to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State (Physical Activity and Sport), and the Director General of Sport Canada. She has recent received a federal appointment as Chair of the Board of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada. A dynamic and inspirational leader, Ms Qualtrough’s passion and commitment is evident as Paralympic Team Canada prepare to make history by winning gold on home soil.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Carla was taught from an early age that it is ok to do things differently, and it’s ok to ask for help.
• If you have to- convince people to let you try, then show them why you were right.
• Use your passion as a vehicle to bring about social change.
• Dispell myths and challenge assumptions.

LISTEN

• Carla Qualthrough – Part 1
  [audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/woi-fall-2010/CarlaQualtrough1.MP3|titles=Carla Qualthrough – Part 1]
• Carla Qualthrough – Part 2
  [audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/woi-fall-2010/CarlaQualtrough2.MP3|titles=Carla Qualthrough – Part 2]
• Carla Qualthrough – Part 3
  [audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/woi-fall-2010/CarlaQualtrough3.MP3|titles=Carla Qualthrough – Part 3]

BIO
Carla Qualtrough is a Vancouver-based human rights lawyer and 2-time Paralympic athlete. Carla is the elected President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee. She is also Director of Sport Initiatives with 2010 Legacies Now, where her focus is on leveraging the opportunity provided by hosting the 2010 Games to address inequity and advance social policy objectives, particularly as they relate to traditionally marginalized and disadvantaged groups. Her primary interest is on legacies for persons with a disability.

Carla comes from a unique background in the areas of human rights and sport policy. Carla has acted as legal counsel for both the BC Human Rights Tribunal and the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC). In addition to her duties as a litigator with both organizations, she acted as lead counsel and primary presenter for the CHRC on a human rights mission to India to discuss the area of disability rights and the legal definition of “disability”. On the sport policy side, in 2005 Carla acted as Senior Advisor to the Parliamentary Secretary (Sport) to the Prime Minister, where she was responsible for researching and drafting the Report to the Prime Minister on the advisability of the creation of a full Ministry of Physical Activity and Sport for Canada. Prior to that, she served as the Senior Policy Advisor to the former Secretary of State (Physical Activity and Sport), as well as Special Advisor to the Director General of Sport Canada. As Senior Policy Advisor, her responsibility was to provide overall strategic political advice and policy direction in all matters related to sport and physical activity in Canada. Her passion for fairness and equity led her to oversee the creation of a national alternative dispute resolution system for sport, as well to manage the strategic development of programs and policies aimed at reducing barriers to and increasing participation of traditionally under-represented groups within the Canadian sport system, which included the development of an Aboriginal sport policy; the development of a Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport; and the creation of a Work Group for Persons with a Disability in Sport.

Carla regularly conducts workshops and makes presentations in the areas of governance, equity and inclusion, and effective decision-making. She volunteers in a number of capacities within the Canadian and international sport systems, including the Canadian Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Canada, and the International Paralympic Committee. She recently received a federal ministerial appointment to the Board of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada.

Carla has been nominated one of the Most Influential Women in Sport in Canada for the past three years. She also sits on the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on the Inclusion of Women and Girls in Sport.

Carla competed nationally for 8 years and internationally for 7 years in the sport of swimming, including the Paralympics in Seoul 1988 (1 bronze), the World Championships in Assen, Holland in 1990 (2 silver, 2 bronze), and the Paralympics in Barcelona 1992 (2 bronze).