Rick Hansen and the Yukon government have joined forces in an effort to make the territory more accessible to people with disabilities.

During an afternoon press conference Tuesday, Premier Dennis Fentie and Health and Social Services Minister Brad Cathers said they will be giving $100,000 to the Rick Hansen Foundation.

Granted at a rate of $20,000 a year for five years, the money is meant to assist in improving the quality of life for people with disabilities.

'In celebration of Rick Hansen's 20th anniversary of the Man in Motion World Tour, I am very pleased to announce this new partnership with the Rick Hansen Foundation,' Fentie told a small audience.

'The government's contribution will help improve the quality of life for Yukoners with spinal cord injuries and other mobility disabilities. This is money for Yukon people that will be spent in the Yukon.'

The money, according to a government press release, will be divided into two funds.

One fund is for individuals with spinal cord injuries, or other disabilities or mobility impairments, to assist them with quality of life. The second fund will be distributed as community grants.

In an interview with the Star, Hansen said he believes the government's funding announcement to make the territory more accessible is a good beginning. He hopes private sector funds will follow.

Hansen said while he believes much progress has been made in raising the awareness levels in able-bodied people in Canada to the challenges faced by people with disabilities but that more work needs to be done.

'There's been a lot of progress made over the last 20 years, but just because we've made progress doesn't mean we're there yet,' he said.

Hansen, who lost the use of his legs in a traffic accident at the age of 15, has been a long-time advocate for disabilities issued.

In his two-year Man in Motion tour 20 years ago, Hansen travelled 34,000 kilometres through 34 countries raising $26 million for spinal cord injury advocacy and research.

His work begun 20 years ago, he said, isn't over.

Some of the challenges facing disabled persons, Hansen said, include barriers to employment, building standards and affordable housing issues.

'Affordable housing is real issue, especially for the newly-disabled. If you've just become disabled, chances are the place you're living in won't work for you any longer.

'Finding an affordable place that meets your new needs is a real challenge,' he said.

Hansen said a system where buildings going up could be rated according to the level of accessibility would also be a step in the right direction.

'I think what this country needs to start thinking about are standards systems.'

He said he feels able-bodied Canadians should remember that many people who have become disabled were not always that way.

'It can happen to anyone at any time,' he said.

Jon Breen, of the Yukon government's Workplace Diversity Employment Office, said he believes Tuesday's funding announcement will enable people in the community to apply for funding based on their needs helping the government to determine what people's priorities really are.

'We're going to learn what people's needs are,' he said.

Breen said the funding, which will be earmarked to address accessibility issues, will help people with disabilities gain advantages many without mobility impairments take for granted.

'I want to tell able-bodied Yukoners a project like this is here to help level the playing field,' he said.

Breen said he would like to see a Yukon and a Canada where people don't see disabilities as unusual but simply as a fact of life.

Ramesh Ferris, the president of the Yukon Society Towards Access Recreation and Sport, said Tuesday he would also like to see everyone view disability as a reality, not an abnormality.

'Disability at some point in time will affect everyone,' he said.

'Let's value diversity; we're all different and we're all unique. Let's think about it when we're building infrastructure,' he said.

Ferris said he'd also like people to think about programs to accompany infrastructure to encourage inclusiveness.

Mt. Sima, he added, is one example of a location in Whitehorse where the disabled have programming issues.

'The ski hill isn't set up for sit skiing,' he said.

The Canada Games Centre, he added, is another location where programs available for disabled Yukoners need improvement.

Ferris said he feels education is the way to raise awareness of able-bodied and disabled Yukoners alike.

The government money will flow to a collaborative 'Solutions Team'.

'This team will draw together volunteer experts from the spinal cord injury and other related disability communities to identify, to create and to deliver solutions that will respond to the priority needs of individuals with spinal cord injuries and other related disabilities,' the government said in a statement.

The team will be led by the office Breen works in.

'It is an honour to be here in Whitehorse during the 20th anniversary of the tour announcing this partnership,' Hansen said.

'This time 20 years ago, I was in Winnipeg. We look forward to working together with the Yukon government, the Workplace Diversity Employment office and the community to help make a difference in the lives of the people of Yukon, for the future.'

'We are working very hard to provide the best services we can to all our citizens and to ensure a better quality of life for people with disabilities,' Cathers said. 'This partnership will help us address the identified priority needs of the Yukon community.'