David Shannon
As a person with quadriplegia, the result of spinal Cord injury at the age of 18, David Shannon has used a wheelchair for the past 25 years. During this time, he has been committed to policy development and legal advocacy for the protection of human rights and community integration for persons with a disability.
David received his undergraduate degree from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and law degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax. He later attended the London School of Economics and Political Science for his LL.M. studies, where he focused on the advancement of second-generation human rights norms.
In 1997, at the age of 34, David took his wheelchair 9,000 kilometres across Canada to promote empowerment for disenfranchised communities and greater social inclusion for all Canadians. David Shannon’s Cross Canada Tour took two years to plan, 197 days to complete, and involved 5,000 volunteers and participants. During the tour, David wheeled for 10-hour days and spoke directly to 20,000 people.
David is the recipient of many awards and honours, including the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for his commitment to human rights and community service. He was the founding chair of the Accessibility Advisory Council of Ontario, and a member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. He continues to sit on numerous boards and committees, among them, the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, and the Tetra Society of Ontario.
The Shannon Law office, located in Thunder Bay, Ontario, practices primarily in administrative law and civil litigation. David’s advocacy and academic interests have centred on civil rights mechanisms that promote freedoms for persons who face medico-legal forms of incarceration, and do not have community-based supports.
In August of 2006, David represented the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres in meetings of the United Nations ad hoc committee to draft a comprehensive Convention on the Rights and Dignity of Persons With a Disability. The Convention was adopted by all member states, and will be before the United Nations General Assembly in fall 2006 for signature and ratification.