Jim Derksen

Jim Derksen, disabled since the 1953 polio epidemic, has been a worker and a leader among the movement of persons with disabilities to advance public recognition of their human rights and to represent themselves in public policy.

In the history of disability activism in Canada, Jim Derksen is a true Renaissance man. He was part of many progressive initiatives: a member of the Company of Young Canadians, a central figure in the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities, and an activist in Disabled People’s International. He has ridden every wave that led to enshrining disability rights in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Jim Derksen was employed in disability policy work by the Government of Manitoba until his retirement from the Civil Service in 2004. He is a recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and lives in Winnipeg with his daughter,