What We Do
Meaningful Access Consulting is an award-winning Canadian universal design and accessibility consulting firm working with developers, designers and city planners to create spaces that include all members of the community.
Pre-Construction Design & Development
We collaborate with your design and development team to apply a universal design lens from the earliest stages of your project. From concept through schematic design, we help ensure your spaces are not only code-compliant, but truly welcoming and functional for people of all abilities. Our approach balances accessibility with the project's aesthetic vision, construction realities, and budget considerations, helping you create environments that reflect inclusion from the ground up.
Assessment & RHF Accessibility Certification
We provide comprehensive accessibility assessments, delivering clear gap analysis reports that highlight both existing successes and opportunities for improvement. Our recommendations are grounded in universal design principles and aligned with Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™ (RHFAC) and CSA B651 best practices. Whether you're preparing for renovations or working toward RHF Accessibility Certification, we offer practical, thoughtful guidance to support your team every step of the way.
Accessibility Plan & Community Engagement
We support the development of meaningful Accessibility Plans rooted in both community input and lived experience. Our process ensures the diverse voices within the disability community are not only consulted but actively reflected in the final outcomes. We design and facilitate inclusive engagement strategies that are accessible, culturally responsive, and tailored to the unique context of each community. Whether through surveys, open houses, focus groups, or facilitated conversations, we create spaces where every voice has the opportunity to shape policies, programs, and environments that impact their daily lives.
Infrastructure Design Guides & Policy Reviews
We support municipalities and organizations in reviewing and developing accessibility-forward infrastructure design guidelines and policy documents. Our work blends regulatory knowledge with universal design insight and lived experience to create practical, inclusive tools for planners, designers, and contractors. Whether developing new guides or reviewing existing policies, we help ensure your standards are equitable, implementable, and aligned with CSA B651, RHFAC, and current best practices.
Accessibility & Universal Design Workshops
We offer engaging workshops, presentations, and training sessions that build awareness and confidence around accessibility, inclusion, and universal design. Grounded in lived experience and professional expertise, our sessions help teams better understand disability, navigate barriers, and apply inclusive practices in their work. Whether you're looking for a keynote, hands-on disability simulation workshop, or customized training series, we tailor content to meet your audience where they are.
Accessibility Services Overview
Click the PDF icon to see an overview of our services
Meet the Team
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Karin Pasqua
Universal Design and Accessibility Consultant
Karin brings a rare and powerful blend of systems thinking, human-centered design, and communications expertise. As an RHFAC Professional, a former municipal Accessibility & Universal Design Specialist, and a mother, she’s equal parts strategist and storyteller.
With a background in psychology and communication disorders, Karin understands the emotional landscape of disability as much as the technical one. She has led accessibility audits across dozens of parks, playgrounds, civic spaces, and events, and continues to mentor cities and organizations in developing inclusive policies, plans, and public environments.
Marco Pasqua
Accessibility Consultant and Facilitator
Marco Pasqua is an award-winning Entrepreneur, Accessibility Consultant and Inspirational Speaker. He brings a wealth of knowledge in the area of diversity and inclusion and a lifetime of lived experience as a person with a disability and wheelchair-user. He is a designated Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™ (RHFAC) Professional and has worked alongside some of the greatest change-makers in the areas of Accessibility and Inclusion, including the Rick Hansen Foundation, the CSA Group and AccessibleEmployers.ca consulting with municipalities & business leaders on inclusive employment strategies.
Marco has also been involved with a number of organizations as a board member & spokesperson, helping to spread advocacy for persons with disabilities across Canada.
Stella Pasqua
Junior Associate
As the youngest member of our team, Stella brings a unique perspective, proving that you are never too young to start on your journey of educating others on making our communities accessible for everyone. Stella can often be seen in her stroller taking notes or running over to be the first person to press the automatic door button, highlighting the importance of getting inside the places we live, work, play or learn at any age or ability.
Why Meaningful Access?
Meaningful Access is more than accessibility, it’s thoughtful universal design to include everyone in the spaces where we live, work, play and learn.
Our work follows the best practices of the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™ (RHFAC) Program, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their ability or disability can participate meaningfully in community life, in every role, be it visitor, staff, participant, coach or business leader.
Our Story
Several years ago, my husband, who uses a wheelchair, and I were headed to a work party in downtown Vancouver. We were assured the venue was accessible so we got dressed in our holiday best and joined our friends for an evening on the town. We arrived at the venue and we were told the ramp was around the back, in the alley, next to the dumpster, where we would have to wait (in the rain) for someone to let us in, effectively ruining the cutest shoes I owned. We waited for ten minutes to be finally let in, followed the server down a dodgy hallway, down a freight elevator, through another venue, finally into our destination. Our friends wondered what had taken us so long. And, once we got there, my husband couldn’t access the washroom, which was upstairs or navigate in the tightly packed restaurant, so he was basically stuck at the table we chose to sit for the evening. -- Karin Pasqua
Universal Design is more than getting in the building, it's about creating an equitable experience for everyone. That's Meaningful Access.
Awards and Recognition
We are truly honoured to have been recognized in both 2023 and 2025 at the Untapped BC Workplace Inclusion Champion Awards in both the Small Business (2023 - Winners) and Individual categories (2025 - Marco Top 3 Finalist). We are incredibly dedicated to our work and immensely grateful to be recognized for what we do.
Past Project Highlights
RHFAC Gold - BC Transit Facilities
We worked with BC Transit to review three of their sites across British Columbia, providing accessibility consulting from design through to occupancy on two major infrastructure projects, both of which achieved Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) Gold. Our involvement included design-stage reviews, iterative feedback, and final assessments to ensure each site met CSA and RHFAC standards while addressing real-world accessibility needs for staff and transit users.
Paratransit & Snow and Ice Policy Reviews
In partnership with Happy Cities, we supported the City of Whitehorse in reviewing its Snow and Ice Control Policy and Paratransit Policy through an accessibility lens. Our work focused on aligning municipal policies with universal design principles and the lived experiences of disabled residents—ensuring snow clearing practices and transit services are more equitable, predictable, and inclusive. Community engagement and best practice research informed clear, actionable recommendations that support Whitehorse’s long-term accessibility and sustainability goals.
City of Medicine Hat - 2026 Para Olympic Games Facilities
In preparation for the 2026 Paralympic Games, we supported the City of Medicine Hat in enhancing the accessibility of key public facilities across the community. This included comprehensive accessibility reviews of recreation centres, cultural venues, and arts facilities such as the iconic Medalta in the Historic Clay District. Our work resulted in detailed reports and clear summaries outlining successes, recommendations, and opportunities to improve access and inclusion for residents and visitors of all abilities including neurodiversities and communication disabilities.
Easter Seals House & Camp Shawnigan
We provided an accessibility assessment and support with grant-writing to finance the proposed upgrades. The assessment supported the organization in receiving over $81,000 from the Enabling Accessibility Grant to improve their accessibility and support the creation of their universally designed outdoor garden project. MAC is providing ongoing support to the organization on the renewal and redevelopment of Camp Shawnigan - a $25 million transformation that will create North America’s first year-round, purpose-built, multifunctional space for children, youth, and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities.
CONTACT US
SAY HELLO
Phone: 778-899-3419
Email: info@meaningfulaccess.com
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