Forty years after his Man in Motion journey around the globe, Rick Hansen is still pushing for a more accessible and including Canada. Hansen was at Halifax Central Library on Spring Garden Rodd on Saturday morning, as part of a Canadian tour marking of the 40th anniversary of the journey that saw him travel more than 40,00 kilometres in his wheelchair across 34 different countries in 26 months. The tour helped raised awareness about the barriers people with disabilities faced in the community and inspired change around the globe. Hansen said the journey wasn’t easy and there were times he thought about quitting. “Being on the road for so long, I almost quit, thinking maybe that Canadians weren’t going to get involved,” said Hansen. “And, boy, was I ever glad that I was encouraged to keep going and have faith.” Hansen remembers Nova Scotians supporting him and says that encouragement helped him keep going, and now forty years later he’s revisiting communities and reconnecting with people. Looking back Hansen says accessibility has come a long way, but he’s not done advocating for more. “A lot’s happened in 40 years,” said Hansen. “So it’s nice to have the chance to come back and say thank you. There’s been lots of progress but let’s keep going.” Part of that effort includes sharing the Man in Motion journey with the next generation. Hansen has children’s book published that tells the story of his epic journey, which is illustrated by Lunenburg-based artist Emma Fitzgerald, who says Hansen’s advocacy and message of perseverance resonated with her. “I learned the message of keep going,” said Fitzgerald. “And that anything is possible.”’ Fitzgerald is also trained as an architect and says Hansen’s advocacy helped bring accessibility into the conversation around how buildings and public spaces are though of and designed. “We’re familiar with seeing things like accessibility signs and the buttons to open doors. But if you think back to the 80s, when this all happened, there was so much less, and Rick was that big push that brought it, that conversation, forward,” said Fitzgerald. Hansen’s journey and his advocacy work helped establish the Rick Hansen Foundation which promotes accessibility through its building certification program. There are 30 Rick Hansen Federation Accessibility Certified buildings in Nova Scotia, including 10 with gold-level certification. While Hansen congratulated the province on its work his message to “keep going” was applied again. “Congratulations,” said Hansen. “Thanks for making progress. But let’s not stop now, because we we’ve still got a long way to go.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
