IQALUIT - A high profile champion for the disabled visited Iqaluit June 6-7.

Rick Hansen, also known as the Man in Motion for his fundraising wheelchair trip around the world 20 years ago, was on hand for the official signing of a five-year, $100,000 contribution from the Government of Nunavut to his Rick Hansen Foundation, which aids those with mobility impairment.

Rick Hansen listens to some throat singers at Aqsarniit school in Iqaluit while students Pakkak Picco, Krista Akulujuk and Malaya Noah stand in the background on June 7. Hansen was in Nunavut's capital to mark the 20th anniversary of the completion of his Man in Motion journey around the globe, and to accept a $100,000 contribution to the Rick Hansen Foundation for people with mobility impairment. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

Also on June 6, Health and Social Services Minister Leona Aglukkaq tabled Tapiriiliutivaa - Bringing Help: A Handbook for People with Disabilities in Nunavut. The 20-page booklet lists various services for Nunavummiut with impaired vision or hearing, speech language issues and for those who are paralyzed.

In Pangnirtung, Davidee Arnakak, president of the Nunavut Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society, said he has seen promising changes in available programs and services over the past several years. He said accessibility has improved in some regards - he singled out First Air for making plane travel easier - but there are still many people with spinal cord injuries that need their homes made accessible.

There are approximately 4,500 Nunavummiut with some form of disability, he said.

Arnakak, who is confined to a wheelchair due to polio, said the $100,000 offering from the GN will do some good, but much more is still needed.

"It will help a little bit for a little while, but it's not enough," he said in Inuktitut through interpreter Meena Kakkik.

Disability issues arose in the legislative assembly a few times last week. On June 4, David Alagalak, MLA for Arviat, urged Aglukkaq to find an alternative to motorized wheelchairs with batteries that wear down quickly. Those wheelchairs are also built with small, narrow wheels that aren't conducive for Nunavut's dirt roads, according to Alagalak.

The following day, Kugluktuk MLA Joe Allen Evyagotailak voiced concerns over the RCMP detachment in his community - which is being expanded yet doesn't have a wheelchair ramp. Justice Minister Paul Okalik said he would bring that issue to the attention of the commanding officer of the RCMP's V division during a meeting with him later that same day.

While hurdles remain for the disabled, Hansen's message to children at Aqsarniit school on June 7 emphasized the positives. He told of how he wound up paralyzed at age 15 as a result of a vehicle accident. After a couple of years of frustration, he started playing wheelchair basketball and competed in wheelchair track and marathons. He won gold medals in those sports, and he has since learned to ski as well, he said.

In 1985, Hansen set out on his 26-month, 40,000-kilometre wheelchair trek around the world. He raised more than $26 million in the process, and showed people that he has an ability, not a disability, he said.

"Never give up on your dreams," he told the students.

The Nunavut Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society is scheduled to meet in Rankin Inlet this week.