Date: Tuesday, January 27th, 2026
Time: 12 to 1:30 p.m. ET
Language of delivery: English
Platform: Zoom
Accessibility: ASL interpretation and bilingual captioning will be provided. Additional accommodations available as requested.
About
Join the Canadian Accessibility Network (CAN) for an inspiring discussion on accessibility and inclusion in sport – from grassroots recreation to professional competition. This forum will showcase success stories and explore how accessibility in sport extends beyond participation to leadership, innovation, and policy. Panelists will share real-world strategies for creating inclusive opportunities, addressing systemic barriers, and building partnerships that strengthen accessible sport across Canada.
Designed for athletes, recreation professionals, sports organizations, and anyone passionate about inclusion, this session will highlight how accessible sport benefits individuals, communities, and the nation as a whole.
Speakers
Moderator
- Julie Hutsebaut
Julie Hutsebaut is a Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional (CCIP™) with over 20 years of combined lived and professional experience advancing accessibility and inclusion across organizations, businesses, sport, academia, government, and community sectors. Drawing on her personal experience navigating barriers, she brings a unique perspective to her work. A former elite cyclist, Julie actively promotes inclusive and accessible cycling practices across recreational and competitive sport. She provides consulting, training, and accessible communication services to organizations and businesses, and volunteers on committees advancing diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Committed to advocacy and systemic change, Julie integrates accessibility into policy, education, and practice to create safer, more inclusive environments for all.
Panelists
- Michael Jacques
Michael is a Special Olympics athlete, competing in baseball and basketball. He is a public speaker and activist, who in 2018 wrote and self-published Can’t Read, Can’t Write, Here’s My Book using speech-to-text technology which sold over 22,000 copies. In 2020 he released a children’s book that he coauthored with Heather Gale titled, I Belong: Can I Play? Available in English & French and has sold over 6,000 copies. Michael gives back by donating partial proceeds (over $13,000) of his book sales to Special Olympics Canada and Community Living, two organizations doing great work in these areas.
He has received international recognition on the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust website, was the past President for the Board of Directors with Community Living Ontario and appointed to the Minister’s Advisory Council on Special Education. He was chosen as Fonthill’s 2019 Citizen of the Year and works at Sobeys Grocery Store in Fonthill.
- Tai Young
Tai Young is a 21 year old RTA Media Production Student, Wheelchair Racer and TVO Kids host of Dream It To Be It. He is passionate about disability representation and inclusion, and hopes to make and tell stories using artistic mediums. Tai has been racing for 4 years and has competed at multiple national events and most recently received two bronze medals in St. John’s Newfoundland for the Canada Summer Games. He believes in the importance of balancing athletics and art, as it helps create a wide variety of experience and perspectives that are so valuable and special to him. Tai is very excited to be a part of the panel with such a great group of people. He hopes that sharing his story will create and make more visibility for the disability community.
- Alison Levine
Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Alison Levine is a proud 3x Paralympian and member of the Canadian National Boccia Team. Boccia is a paralympic sport of precision, concentration, and muscle control. She plays in the BC4 category which is for athletes with severe disabilities affecting the whole body, other than cerebral palsy. In her case, Alison has a degenerative neuromuscular disorder that causes weakness in all her muscles. She was born what appeared to be perfectly healthy but started exhibiting symptoms around the age of twelve. Throughout the progression of her disabilty, Alison has played many adapted sports from wheelchair basketball, sledge hockey, and wheelchair rugby but now, aged 35, concentrates solely on boccia as it is physically the only sport suited for her level of disability.
Noted for her powerhouse strength and aggressive playing style, Alison quickly excelled at her new sport. Within three weeks of throwing her first ball, she was recruited to the provincial team, and within three months, she and her partner became the Canadian doubles champions. Within six months, she was selected to the national team. Now twelve years on, Alison is a veteran on the national team. She has climbed the ranks internationally, and has held the title of world number one for many years.
While dealing with a debilitating condition that robs her of her independence, She makes the best of it. If it were not for her disability, Alison says, she would probably never have had the opportunity or honor to represent her country or get to spend her days playing a sport she loves.