It was a special weekend to be in Collingwood. The Collingwood Festival for Canada began Saturday June 28th and continued to Tuesday July 1st throughout the streets of Downtown Collingwood. A highlight of the holiday weekend celebration was the Citizenship Reaffirmation Ceremony followed by Delegate Greetings on the Main Street Stage on Tuesday July 1st.

Mayor Chris Carrier acted as host following the Call to Order by Collingwood Town Crier Ken Templeman. Mayor Carrier introduced Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable David C. Onley, the Honourable Helena Guergis, MP Simcoe-Grey, Jim Wilson, MPP Simcoe-Grey, Lt. Colonel Robert Kearney, Land Forces Central Area Training Centre Meaford, Simcoe County Warden Tony Guergis, Clearview Township Mayor Ken Ferguson and Mayor Jinkoh Nakata from Collingwood's sister city, Katano, Japan. Mayor Carrier told the Canada Day gathering that this year is the 27th year that Collingwood Collingwood and Katano have been sister cities.

Lieutenant Governor Onley stated that he had attended many citizenship ceremonies in the past, but had never attended a Citizenship Reaffirmation Ceremony until Tuesday's ceremony in Collingwood. When David C. Onley was appointed The Queen’s representative in Ontario, his concern for people with disabilities became front page news. And when he took office on 5 September 2007, Ontario’s 28th Lieutenant Governor became a highly placed champion for accessibility.

The Honourable David C. Onley has championed disability issues on many fronts and for many years. Having lived with polio and post-polio syndrome since the age of three, he has broken through social barriers and become a role model.

In his 22-year career with CityTV, he was Canada’s first senior newscaster with a visible disability. A popular news anchor, host/producer, science and technology specialist, and weatherman, he showed that ability outshines disability.