Minister rules out cuts to AISH, but recipients still worried of future changes

Province reverses planned cutbacks to disabled The province changed its mind about cutting support for severely disabled Albertans. Ina Sidhu reports

Calgary — The UCP government is backtracking on possible cuts to a monthly income support program for Albertans living with severe disabilities.

“I know how important it is and how scary it is and how helpless you can feel when you don’t get that help,” said Dori Davidson, who has been receiving AISH for five years. “We need the money to get by day to day.”

“I have autism, and it greatly affects my ability to maintain employment, look for work and deal with everyday social interactions,” said Davidson. His wife is also expecting their second child.

Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) is a program providing financial and health benefits for eligible Albertans with a permanent medical condition that prevents them from earning a living, according to the province.

A Postmedia report on Friday revealed the province was reviewing and potentially making cuts.

The minister responsible for the program dismissed that in online posts Saturday.

“Let me state definitively that there will be no cuts to AISH financial benefits,” said Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Community and Social Services, on Facebook.

“To those of you who have had a sleepless night due, due to the stress of yesterday’s news, let me provide you with some reassurance. First, please know that no changes have been made to the AISH program. Second, the focus of my review has been on service delivery, and finding ways to streamline operations. I will continue with that review,” reads the post.

Davidson said the post offered relief but he is also worried.

“At first I felt good, but then also a bit cautious because they made claims that they weren’t gonna cut something before and then they went out and cut it anyways,” said Davidson.

Sawhney said in the most recent provincial budget, AISH funding went up by 6.2 per cent. At $1.29 billion, that is the highest budget for AISH in Alberta history.

“However, what is also true is that caseload and cost pressures do present a challenge for program sustainability. As of July 2020, the total AISH caseload was 69,785 clients, and the AISH caseload growth rate is roughly three times the growth rate of Alberta’s population,” said Sawhney.

AISH provides a maximum monthly living allowance of $1,685 to clients.

“While I am relieved to see this minister commit to not further cutting AISH benefits, it is still not enough for the community that has seen their benefits clawed back, and de-indexed by the UCP,” said Marie Renaud, NDP Community and Social Service critic, in a press release.

“When this government de-indexed AISH from the rate of inflation they cut AISH. Now that the minister has committed to rejecting the plan for proposed cuts, we now call on her to develop a plan to actually support program growth and immediately reintroduce indexing of AISH.”

Renaud is calling on the UCP government to be transparent on the status of the review of the program.

CTV News reached out to Sawhney for comment Monday., Her office said she was not available.