Sledge-hockey captain Jean Labonté will lead Team Canada into the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee announced today (March 8) that Labonté will be Canada's flag bearer for the opening ceremony.

A native of Gatineau, Quebec, Labonté has previously competed in three Winter Paralympics, winning a gold medal in 2006 and a silver in 1998.

Labonté has played in five International Paralympic Committee Sledge Hockey World Championships, earning gold medals in 2000 and 2008, and bronzes in 1996 and 2009.

The opening ceremony at B.C. Place will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday (March 12).

At the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin, Italy, sledge-hockey player Todd Nicholson was Canada's opening flag bearer, while para-Nordic athlete Colette Bourgonje carried the Maple Leaf in the closing ceremony.

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