Accessibility champion Rick Hansen brought a deeply personal message to the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) board at its June 19 meeting, urging them to lead the way in building inclusive, accessible communities for all.
Hansen was there to introduce the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) — a national program that helps governments and organizations assess and improve the accessibility of their buildings. But first, he shared the story that changed his life forever.
“I’m from Williams Lake, up in the Cariboo,” he began. “My whole life revolved around physical activity and the use of my legs. I had big dreams — maybe one day representing Canada at the Olympics.”
At 15, he was returning home from a fishing trip when the pickup truck he was riding in rolled on a gravel road. “I was thrown back-first into a steel toolbox. I couldn’t get up. My legs just wiggled like jelly,” he recalled. “Three hours later, the doctor told me I’d broken my back and damaged my spinal cord. I’d never walk again.”
At the time, disability was viewed with pity, not a possibility, Hansen recalled. But then he met Stan Stronge — a man who had lived with paralysis since the 1940s.
“He had this incredible smile. At first, I wondered what he had to smile about. But then I saw it — he wasn’t focusing on his disability. He was focusing on his ability. And I realized, if he could do it, so could I.”
That attitude propelled Hansen to become a world-class wheelchair athlete and eventually launch the Man in Motion World Tour, wheeling more than 40,000 kilometres through 34 countries to raise awareness and funds for spinal cord research.
He recalled one moment that has stayed with him ever since.
“This one event in Poland — I’ll never forget it. There was a young man sitting on a piece of plywood with a pillow on it and four little skateboard wheels — that was his mobility machine. With tears streaming down his face and, through a translator, he said ‘Thank you. This is the first time that my family and my community have looked at me with ability. Keep going.’”
Over the years, Rick Hansen has worked alongside some of the world’s most recognized champions for change, including Terry Fox, Michael J. Fox, and Christopher Reeve. He and Terry Fox shared a close friendship, both growing up in B.C. and turning personal adversity into a national movement for hope and action.
Hansen supported Michael J. Fox’s efforts to advance Parkinson’s research and raise awareness about neurodegenerative diseases. With Christopher Reeve, Hansen collaborated on global initiatives to push for medical breakthroughs and better quality of life for people living with disabilities.
Hansen noted that there are 1.3 billion people on the planet living with a disability, including one in four Canadians. He pointed out that there are still 270 different accessibility codes across Canada.
“Can you imagine what that does to the industry? The cost, the inefficiency?”
He said the RHFAC offers a national standard — paired with training for planners, architects, and developers — that makes it easier and cheaper to design buildings that work for everyone.
“It’s a lot easier to use an eraser on a pencil than a jackhammer on concrete,” he said.
Hansen challenged the RDCO board to lead.
“Wouldn’t it be great if this region came together and brought this forward to the Union of B.C. Municipalities — or even the Federation of Canadian Municipalities? We could build a movement.”
He closed with a message of encouragement and urgency.
“I’m here not just to challenge you, but also to say thank you — because it's the work you do that makes a difference," an emotional Hansen said. "I know it's hard. I know it's sometimes thankless. But you're doing good work. You're helping people like me feel that I’m not alone — that we can work together and get there faster. The country needs you.”
