A legendary lifelong advocate for people with disabilities has died in Manitoba and across the country.
Jim Derksen, one of the founding members of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities, died earlier this month at age 75, marking the end of a life full of tireless activism.
Derksen, who used a wheelchair after contracting polio in the late 1950s when he was just a child, grew up at a time when there was no accessible transportation, when children with disabilities did not have access to school. regular and when their rights were. t consecrated to the letter of Canada.
He didn’t stop that, said Laurie Beachell, a longtime friend of Derksen’s.
“Jim was a lifelong champion, and he convinced many that our challenge is to create more inclusive and accessible communities, and he did so with great passion, great knowledge and a gentle firmness that brought people together. to create the changes that were needed, “he said in a Thursday interview with Janet Stewart on CBC Winnipeg News at 6 p.m.
“Jim made people understand that the problem didn’t lie in the individual, but … with the way we structure our society, with the built environment, with the prejudices and prejudices of the people.”
Jim Derksen is photographed with his dog. The disability rights activist has died this month. (Jim Derksen / Facebook)
Derksen was instrumental in enshrining disability rights in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
At the time, he was working with the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, but was assigned to a federal committee to advocate for inclusion in the equity rights section of the charter.
“In the early days, they just wanted to include physical disability, not mental disability. Jim led this battle and said, ‘No, it has to be both,'” Beachell said.
“Jim was one of those characters who, in a gentle way, could bring people together.”
At a not-so-kind moment, Derksen followed then-Justice Minister Jean Chrétien to a bath to continue pressuring him at 11 a.m. to write the letter.
“He convinced people with the power of his intellect and with the power of his argument,” Beachell said.
Accessible traffic
Derksen was at one time chairman of the Winnipeg Taxi Board and advocated for accessible traffic.
He also pressed against medical care to die.
Debbie Patterson, a Manitoba artist, co-founder of Shakespeare in the Ruins and advocate for disability in her own right, was a friend of Derksen for more than three decades. She says she was concerned about Bill C-7, which amended the Penal Code to allow people to have the help of a doctor to die, was dangerous and could target vulnerable Canadians.
Jim Derksen opposed the federal government’s C7 bill, a law to amend the Penal Code to pave the way for medical care to die. He believed it was a dangerous law that could target vulnerable Canadians. (Why us? For the value of the project / Facebook)
“He strongly believed that people with disabilities, our lives are undervalued in society. People look at us and think that our lives are not worth living. And because of that, we are more vulnerable to premature death,” he said. say in a Thursday interview with Faith Fundal on Up to Speed on CBC Manitoba.
“It was also quite vehement that without the right supports to live well, it is inconceivable to offer support to die.”
“He’s not ashamed of his disability”
Derksen was not only an advocate for disability rights, but he was also a supportive friend.
The two approached when Derksen asked why Patterson, who lives with multiple sclerosis, was limping one day.
“He just … he became a mentor to me when it came to navigating life with a disability. As soon as he saw something happening, he was there asking questions, helping me figure out what I had to do it, ”Patterson said.
She says her gregarious and honest nature made her feel comfortable sharing anything with him.
“He was so frontal and vulnerable … he wasn’t ashamed of his disability. He wasn’t ashamed of the way his body worked, he wasn’t ashamed of his body. He was very sincere and sincere, and that made me completely unarmed and comfortable sharing anything with him, “he said.
Derksen was also an enthusiast at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and if he hadn’t died, Beachell said he would be at Birds Hill Provincial Park this weekend.
He has no knowledge of a year his friend lost since the start of the music festival.