‘I’m afraid’: Albertans with disabilities concerned about province clawing back federal benefit

A rally is planned against Alberta’s decision to treat new federal funding meant to increase aid for disabled people as a stream of income for the province.

Some frustrated Albertans are planning to rally outside the Alberta legislature against the provincial government’s decision to treat new federal funding intended for disabled people as a stream of income.

A federal Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), expected to start payments in June 2025, is meant to support low-income Canadians with disabilities.

Albertans receiving the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) have started receiving letters from the province telling anyone who may be eligible to apply for this benefit.

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If someone is granted CDB, the letter explains the province will then reduce its AISH payment by that same amount. This would leave AISH recipients with the exact same amount of money and the province with extra money.

“This letter in the mail is like a punch in the face and I’m shocked the provincial government would do such a thing,” said AISH recipient Selene Becker.

Becker said she struggles to make ends meet, and an extra $200 a month (the maximum monthly amount of CDB someone may receive) would make a big difference.

“I still have to go to the food bank every month, and at $200 it would stop me from having to do that,” said Becker.

Becker said, after nine years, the lease on her Calgary apartment is not being renewed because rent is increasing beyond what she can afford on AISH, so she also must find a new place to live this summer.

“AISH’s core benefit rate of $1,901 per month will continue to be the highest provincial disability benefit in Canada,” Ashley Stevenson, a press secretary with the Ministry of Seniors and Social Services, said in a statement.

“It has been a longstanding requirement for all of Alberta’s various income support programs for recipients to exhaust all forms of income accessible and available to them.”

AISH recipients are compelled to try and access the new federal benefit and to cover the associated costs.

Disability advocates say the required doctor’s note can cost up to $300, and then there is the cost of filing income taxes, something some AISH recipients have never done before.

“People are angry, they’re upset, afraid, because they don’t actually understand what this is they are going to navigate, the processes that are involved, and how to manage the cost that will benefit solely the Alberta government,” said Trish Bowman, CEO of Inclusion Alberta.

She urged the province to stop treating federal benefits as income that reduces Alberta’s support.

CDB was intended to boost aid for people due to the increased cost of living.

Maja Stefanovska, a media relations representative with Employment and Social Development Canada, told CTV News, “The goal of the federal government is to ensure that all eligible Canadians with disabilities are better off because of the CDB.”

Due to jurisdiction, the federal government cannot dictate how provinces and territories treat the CDB.

“The federal government has called on them to exempt Canada Disability Benefit payments from counting as income in relation to provincial or territorial supports,” Stefanovska added.

“Every other province and territory is giving to their recipients except Alberta,” said AISH recipient Sarah Moon.

“That is just cruel and disgusting, and I don’t know in what civilized society they could justify that.”

Moon wants to know where the money the province saves on AISH will go.

“I suspect general revenue, which means they can spend it wherever they want they could spend it on tax cuts for big corporations. They could spend it on his ridiculous projects or referendums for things we don’t want,” she added.

In a statement Friday, the province said it is obligated to spend the full amount it costs to administer the AISH program. The amount allocated in the budget was a forecast of the program’s full costs.

“As per standard, long-standing government budgetary processes, differences in funding for statutory programs are typically not reallocated elsewhere, as that is simply a fluctuation in the costs of the program and is the whole purpose of maintaining a contingency fund for unexpected changes,” Ashley Stevenson, a press secretary with the Ministry of Seniors and Social Services, said in a statement.

”If our government finds unexpected savings in-year because program costs are less than anticipated, they are simply dollars not spent as we are facing a deficit and are fiscally responsible.”

Moon said Alberta’s high cost of living is difficult for everyone and people with disabilities have medical costs on top of that.

She said she already needs to borrow money to cover monthly costs and knows she’s not alone.

“I’m afraid as a disabled person myself and for all my friends and family who are also disabled,” she said.

Inclusion Alberta says aside from not being compassionate, falling short on disability support is financially short-sighted.

“You know when people don’t have access to the support, they end up in much more costly government services like healthcare, mental health and addictions, criminal justice system,” the group said.

Advocacy group Barrier Free Alberta is organizing a rally outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton on May 6 at noon, calling for no clawbacks on CDB, a strong enforceable Accessible Alberta Act and meaningful consultation.