Rick Hansen says progress has been made, but barriers for people with disabilities remain four decades after his 1985 world tour.
The Story
More than 40 years after Rick Hansen’s 1985 world tour to promote inclusion, the Canadian athlete and disability advocate said accessibility gaps still need urgent attention.
On Wednesday, Hansen attended a screening of the documentary film “Man In Motion: The Rick Hansen Story” on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, marking just more than 40 years since he crossed the bridge from Hull, Quebec, onto Ottawa, where thousands gathered to celebrate his journey.
Hansen said the moment in Ottawa was a “highlight I’ll never forget,” adding that although Canada has come “a long way” toward an accessible and inclusive country, “we have a long way to go, and we have to accelerate our progress.”
The tour began in 1985 when Hansen, who became paralyzed from the waist down after a truck accident, wheeled more than 40,000 kilometres across 34 countries to tackle barriers for people with disabilities.
He said awareness has increased, but he identified the built environment as a top priority, saying, “We’re building things for the future of our country, and unless we change the way we approach building, we are building in barriers that are not sustainable.”
Hansen pointed to compliance standards, saying the approach amounts to “only 40 or 50 out of 100 on a scale of accessibility,” which he said is “not good enough.”
The federal government’s 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability found that 8 million Canadians—more than 27 per cent of the population—had a disability, and Hansen said the number of people who know or live with someone with a disability is higher.
He said “incremental progress isn’t acceptable anymore,” arguing the country must accelerate and ensure funds are used to make Canada “more meaningfully accessible and inclusive.”
Hansen also referenced federal legislation: in 2019, the government adopted the Accessible Canada Act, pledging to make Canada barrier-free by 2040, while he said real accessibility and inclusion require ongoing work beyond timelines.
During his 1985 tour, then-prime minister Brian Mulroney contributed $1 million on behalf of Canadians, and the initiative raised $26 million.
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