Defibrillators in Wellington County High Schools and Conestoga College Guelph Campus

Ted Arnott made the following remarks on April 30, 2010 at an event in Guelph
announcing the installation of automated external defibrillators in Wellington County
High Schools and Conestoga College Guelph Campus.

Good morning, everyone.

I’m glad to be here, glad to be able to join my colleague in elected public service, Bruce
Schieck, Trustee for the Upper Grand District School Board, for this important public
announcement.

I wish to begin by commending the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and its
many local partners for the good work you do—and especially today, for your efforts
and leadership in having defibrillators placed in our schools.

In the 20 years I’ve been privileged to serve in the Ontario Legislature, there has always
been a strong consensus that emergency services are vital. No matter who has been
the Government of the day, every MPP understands this—there is unanimity.

And as defibrillators have come down in cost and become simpler to use, their
lifesaving potential has grown exponentially.

This is why we are here today.

There are few families in Ontario today who haven’t been touched by the sudden loss of
a family member by heart attack or stroke—my own family among them.

If our support for a program like Public Access to Defibrillation, or “PAD,” makes a
difference, lives will be saved and our families will benefit, receiving the greatest gift of
all.

All of you here who have played a part in this partnership deserve enormous credit.
Through your work young lives will be saved.

On behalf of the Province of Ontario, please accept our sincere thanks.