Joanne MacDonald:  Officer of The Order of Canada

December 12, 2008

"The Order of Canada, our country’s highest civilian honour, was created in 1967 during Canada’s centennial year to recognize a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation. Over the last 40 years, more than 5,000 people from all sectors of society have been invested into the Order."

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada

A powerful role model, Joanne MacDonald has spent decades fighting to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities and to making Canada more inclusive. After achieving outstanding success as an elite wheelchair athlete, she became an outspoken advocate for people with disabilities, helping to empower her peers by challenging stereotypes and promoting equality. As a member of various organizations at the provincial and national levels, she has been a key contributor to the development of the independent living movement.

Joanne MacDonald has made her mark on wheelchair sports in Newfoundland and Labrador and, indeed, the world. She has successfully competed at both national and international levels, bringing home 61 medals and a host of national and world records. Her achievements have been touted as being "unknown to but a handful of Newfoundlanders," but her renown has far-reaching effects.

Ms. MacDonald became the heart and soul of wheelchair athletics since her introduction to them in 1973. Aside from her own accomplishments, she worked diligently to develop the careers of other wheelchair athletes in the province.

After a shoulder injury forced her to retire from active participation in wheelchair sports in 1984, community activism became her new passion. She continues to promote equality and dispel the myths and stereotypes surrounding people with disabilities. She has used her own experiences to reach hundreds of children throughout Newfoundland and Labrador as she participated in school speaking engagements. She is driven by a desire to share her strengths and accomplishments with the larger community, namely the province.

Through her employment, Ms. MacDonald has furthered her activism by working within the rehabilitation field, community organizations and the federal government. In fact, her work in the field of social and policy development within the departments of Secretary of State and Human Resources Development Canada earned her the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.

In June 2004 Joanne received the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.