Delta's newly elected MP is among those being sworn into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet Wednesday morning.
Carla Qualtrough, who beat incumbent Conservative Kerry-Lynne Findlay in the Oct. 19 election, has been appointed Minister of Sport, and Persons with Disabilities.
Qualtrough is one of three B.C. MPs in cabinet -- Jody Wilson-Raybould (Vancouver-Granville)and Harjit Sajjan (Vancouver-South) were also sworn in Wednesday morning.
Qualtrough, a legally blind human rights lawyer is also a former Paralympic althlete. She has worked with the Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal of B.C., the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal and the Canadian Human Right Commission. She also chairs the Minister's Council on Employment and Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities.
She also has extensive experience in sport. She was director of inclusiong and director of sport for the 2010 Legacies Now Society, acted as senior advisor ro the Parliamentary Secretary (Sport) to the Prime Minister, senior policy advisor to the Secretary of State (Physical Activity and sport) and special advisor to the director general of Sport Canada.
The Canadian Paralympic Committee issued a statement congratulating all the new cabinet ministers, in particular Qualtrough.
"We are looking forward to working with the new government and ministers," said Gaetan Tardif, president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee. "As they embark on planning their agenda and priorities, we are keenly interested in collaborating with Minister Qualtrough and forging a robust oartnership, to continue to advance our country as a world leader in sport, and to enhance accessible opportunities in sport and physical activities for all Canadians."
Qualtrough has a long history with the Paralympics. She competed in swimming at the 1988 and 1992 Paralympic Games, winning three medals; she served at president of the Canadian Paralympic Committe from 2006 to 2010; and in 2013 was elected vice-president of the Americans Paralympic Games.
Qualtrough was the first Paralympian to be elected to the House of Commons and on Wednesday became the first Paralympian to be appointed to cabinet.
