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An exciting June and the start of a busy LiveWorkPlay summer season!

The LiveWorkPlay News

June 23, 2026

An exciting June and the start of a busy LiveWorkPlay summer season!

Congratulations Scott MacLellan!

The Canadian Association for Supported Employment (CASE) gives out the three national awards every year at their annual conference. This includes the Phillip Emmerson Award for Employment Excellence, which recognizes an outstanding person who has made significant contributions to the promotion of full citizenship and personal capacity through employment and innovation in the workplace within Canada. LiveWorkPlay was honoured to nominate Scott MacLellan for 2026, and beyond excited to see him named as this year’s recipient at the CASE conference at the Weston Ottawa ballroom on June 10.

After a moving introduction by Phillip Emmerson, originator of this award (middle front above) Scott was busy receiving congratulations after a thunderous standing ovation, when he was surprised by the opportunity to make some live remarks.

First, thank you all so much for being here. I’d first like to thank LiveWorkPlay. I literally would not be here without their help and support. And then, of course, my family, who are here, and my employers and team within the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. I can’t express enough how grateful I am for that job.

This has given me the opportunity to become more independent and pursue my passions and interests, and for that I am always grateful. So, thank you all again.

We invite you to enjoy the live recorded video below. You can also access a transcript with full French translation from our website. Congratulations Scott, and kudos to CASE for developing an award that celebrates both careers and advocacy by people with disabilities. The award and the recipients send powerful messages about possibilities, capabilities, and opportunities.

Double the fun: two internship partnerships launched!

Project Xenia

LiveWorkPlay is excited to be partnering with À pas de géant / Giant Steps as part of Project Xenia, a national initiative that is creating more equitable access to employment opportunities for autistic and neurodiverse individuals in the hospitality sector.

This June, five young people supported by LiveWorkPlay are gaining hands-on experience at the Fairmont Château Laurier exploring opportunities in areas including kitchens, housekeeping, and human resources. Over the first few weeks, we have already seen growth in confidence, skills, and workplace experience.

Congratulations to Ariana Boyce, Luca Casagrande, Aryana Jusdani, Sean Lim, and Randall Proulx for their hard work and commitment.

Thank you to Giant Steps for their leadership in bringing Project Xenia to Ottawa! We would also like to recognize the leadership and staff of the Fairmont Château Laurier. Their warmth, openness, and genuine commitment to inclusion have helped create an environment where people feel welcomed, supported, and valued. Their enthusiastic embrace of Project Xenia is creating opportunities for people to build skills, explore career paths, and gain experience in a world-class hospitality setting. We are grateful for their partnership.

Project SEARCH

Project SEARCH is an internationally recognized transition-to-work program designed for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It typically runs over the course of a full school year and combines classroom instruction with three rotating workplace internships. Interns spend approximately 38 weeks on-site, supported by a dedicated team that includes a teacher, a Skills Trainer, and workplace mentors. LiveWorkPlay is thrilled to be taking on the Skills Trainer role, partnering with teaching staff from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), and workplace mentors at The Ottawa Hospital, which will be the home base for Project SEARCH interns, staff, and mentors in Ottawa starting in September!

Throughout the week of June 15, all three partner organizations had the benefit of in-person training from Cindy Burns, who travelled north from Georgia as a Project SEARCH Program Specialist (photo above, in pink and black dress). Cindy also joined with representatives of existing Canadian project sites for a presentation at the CASE conference. This was a unique opportunity for LiveWorkPlay to learn more about Project SEARCH in addition to Cindy’s direct training modules. We don’t have photos to share (yet) from The Ottawa Hospital but you can see some of the Ottawa team in action from their visit Project SEARCH in Pembroke.

Joshua Gray will represent LiveWorkPlay as the Skills Trainer in continuous coordination with the OCDSB and The Ottawa Hospital reps. He is already setting up a meet and greet with the 2026 interns. They will be provided with details about the official start to their internships in September, and get all the help they need to complete the administrative work required for joining a hospital workplace. Exciting!

Another year is in the books (literally)

Our fiscal year end is March 31, but the year really wraps up when the Annual General Meeting is in the books: the audited financial statements are signed, the minutes from the previous year are approved, the Board of Directors is elected for the coming year, and immediately after the AGM, the Chair and Vice-Chair are elected.

It all happened on the evening of June 22, with our newest Board members Mary Gusella and Paul Miles welcomed to the team, and Danny Spagnolo as Chair, Kate Sherwood as Vice-Chair, and Kaye Kwok continuing to serve.

A special thanks goes out to Robin McIntyre and Carole Sheppard, who finished their 2025-2026 team and did not stand for re-election after serving more than 5 years. Their guidance and contributions were critical to navigating the process of joining The BUSY Group Canada (see last story below!).

On our way to the sold out CLO conference!

In previous editions of The LiveWorkPlay News we’ve shared about our learning partnership with Total Communication Environment. While these efforts are ongoing, together we decided to apply to present at the Community Living Ontario Annual Conference and AGM to share what we have learned so far. The application has just been approved, and we’ll be leading off the conference breakout sessions right after the keynote!

“Many people are aware of the great work that we do with employment” says Grace Hudson, LiveWorkPlay Director of Community Supports. “They are usually less aware of our Just Enough Support approach in the context of housing, community, and natural relationships. We’ve been working closely with a number of the teams and the leadership at TCE to refine the ways we look at quality of life and how to better evaluate our efforts without subjecting the people we support to additional bureacratic processes. That’s why we are also looking at our intake processes to make sure the information we collect is both necessary and useful.”

Congratulations to CLO for selling out a September conference in June! More than 500 delegates will be in attendance with more than 40 speakers and presenters.

In case you missed it!

Following more than a year of exploration, due diligence, consultation, and governance review, LiveWorkPlay has joined The BUSY Group, an international not-for-profit organization delivering employment, education, training, and community services across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

This partnership (in the form of a nonprofit acquistiion, see below: “How is the relationship structured?”) brings together two organizations that share a belief in inclusion, meaningful employment, strong communities, and the right of every person to live, work, and play as a valued citizen. For LiveWorkPlay, joining The BUSY Group provides access to additional expertise, operational capacity, and long-term sustainability that will help strengthen our work into the future.

What Stays the Same?

While this is an exciting new chapter, there is much that remains unchanged:

  • LiveWorkPlay remains a federally incorporated Canadian nonprofit and registered charity, headquartered at Bayview Yards in Ottawa.
  • The LiveWorkPlay name and brand carry on.
  • Julie Kingstone and Keenan Wellar continue as the operational leaders.
  • The entire staff team continues as LiveWorkPlay employees.
  • All services continue without interruption.
  • Relationships with supported individuals, families, employers, volunteers, funders, and community partners remain unchanged.
  • Our commitment to inclusion, citizenship, and human rights continues.

About The BUSY Group

Founded in Australia in 1977, The BUSY Group is one of the largest not-for-profit employment, education, training, and community services organizations in its sector, with a global total of 1,500 staff in Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada.

How Is the Relationship Structured?

LiveWorkPlay continues to operate as a Canadian registered charity and federally incorporated nonprofit with its own Board of Directors and leadership team. The LiveWorkPlay name and identity have been part of this community for more than 30 years, and that will continue.

This transaction was structured as a nonprofit acquisition. Effective June 1, 2026, The BUSY Group Canada became the sole corporate member of LiveWorkPlay, assuming the governance rights and responsibilities associated with that role.

This structure allows LiveWorkPlay to retain its charitable status, local leadership, staff team, and community identity while benefiting from the experience, resources, and operational support of The BUSY Group network. Over time, community members may see examples of co-branding that reflect LiveWorkPlay’s connection to The BUSY Group.

Looking Ahead

Joining The BUSY Group creates new opportunities to strengthen and grow the work we do together. For the first time in LiveWorkPlay history, we have the opportunity to connect our operational work with an international network of organizations focused on employment, education, community inclusion, and social impact.

Over time, we will explore opportunities to expand supports and services, strengthen advocacy and systems-change efforts, invest in workforce development, and bring the LiveWorkPlay approach to more communities across Ontario and Canada.

Together, LiveWorkPlay and The BUSY Group will explore opportunities to:

  • Expand supports and services in Ontario and, where appropriate, elsewhere in Canada.
  • Strengthen advocacy and systems-change efforts.
  • Enhance workforce development and training opportunities.
  • Continue investing in the person-centred approaches that define LiveWorkPlay.

Many people will be hearing this news for the first time today. While the announcement is new, the process that led to this decision began in January 2025 and included extensive due diligence, consultation, governance review, and member approval. We have some photos below that capture some key moments along the way.

We are proud of what has been built over the past three decades and excited about what comes next. Thank you for your trust, support, and belief in LiveWorkPlay’s mission. We can’t wait to keep building that future — with all of you!

Keenan Wellar and Julie Kingstone, Co-Leaders
Daniel Spagnolo, Chair of the Board of Directors

Media inquiry or question? Contact Co-Leader and Director of Communications Keenan Wellar at 613-702-0332 or keenan.wellar@liveworkplay.ca.

Special Meeting of Members

LiveWorkPlay voting members joined a Special Meeting of Members in May to vote on the proposed transaction with The BUSY Group. The meeting achieved 94% participation from eligible voting members and the resolution was approved unanimously.

LiveWorkPlay voting members joined a Special Meeting of Members n person, online, and via proxy on May 27, 2026, to approve the by-law changes required for joining The BUSY Group. 94% (31/33) eligible members participated in the meeting, and the resolution was approved by a unanimous vote.

Paul Miles with family members and individuals supported by LiveWorkPlay.

Stephen Riley with the LiveWorkPlay staff team.

Stephen and Paul shared a laugh with Julie and Jalynn Plaus. Jalynn was celebrating her 19th work anniversary at Value Village (if you saw how many items the previous customer brought to Jalynn’s cash, you would have laughed too)