The Accessibility Advisory Council Public Consultation on Accessibility Legislation Live Video Webcast
May 8th, 2012 at 1:00 PM (CDT)
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Jim Derksen, Policy Analyst
Chairperson of the Accessibility Advisory Council
Jim Derksen is the Chairperson of the Accessibility Advisory Council. He has worked diligently to build and sustain organizations such as the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, Disabled Peoples’ International.
When the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was being crafted, Mr. Derksen played a key role, convincing politicians on both sides of the House of Commons and officials at the Department of Justice that people with disabilities should be included in Section 15, the Equality Rights Section of our Constitution.
Mr. Derksen also had a distinguished career working for the Manitoba Provincial Government, beginning his service as the Coordinator for the UN Decade of Disabled Persons and he was the Executive Director of the Disabilities Issues Office when he retired.
Jim was the recipient of an honourary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Manitoba. Currently, Mr. Derksen is engaged in academic research on end-of-life issues, human rights work and many other pursuits.
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Yvonne Peters
Vice-Chairperson of the Accessibility Advisory Council
Yvonne Peters is the Vice-chairperson of the Accessibility Advisory Council. Yvonne was born in Saskatoon and has lived in Winnipeg for the past 23 years. She has worked as a social worker, human rights officer and lawyer. Currently, Ms. Peters practices as a sole practitioner, specializing in human rights and equality rights, providing her clients with a unique blend of legal assistance and social policy research and analysis.
Ms. Peters is also Vice Chair of the Board of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission and is a Council Member of the Manitoba Bar Association. She is a founding member of the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund, has served on the Steering Committee of the National Association of Women and the Law, was Chair of the Women’s Health Clinic, and is on the board of the Canadian Women’s Health Network. She serves as a legal advisor to the Council of Canadians with Disabilities.
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Debra Parkes
Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law
University of Manitoba
Debra Parkes is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba, where she teaches and researches in a variety of areas related to constitutional and human rights law. Her research examines the challenges and possibilities of framing and adjudicating human rights claims in a variety of venues and contexts, with a particular focus on equality rights, social and economic rights, and prisoners’ rights. She is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law. In recognition of her human rights work, Debra Parkes has received the University of Manitoba Outreach Award (2005) and the Manitoba Bar Association Equality Rights Award (2008).