Opinion: In Alberta’s grab for federal cash, Albertans with disabilities pay the price

By Emily Phillipos, Adam Cembrowski, Thomas Feth, Chris Wiebe, Andrew Green and Anna Lund, Calgary Herald

Starting in July, Canadians with disabilities are due to start receiving an extra $200 per month — except in Alberta, where that additional income will instead flow to the provincial government.

The federal Canada Disability Benefit is designed to address poverty and enhance financial security for working-age individuals with disabilities. Its primary goal is to reduce pervasive disability poverty and improve recipients’ quality of life by providing them with consistent, additional income. Only $200 a month is completely inadequate to achieve this goal, but people with disabilities in Alberta will not even experience that meagre increase in their finances.

The Alberta government plans to claw back the benefit from any recipients receiving income support. People with disabilities face barriers to employment and consequently are more reliant on government income programs than people without disabilities. In Alberta, these programs include Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH).

Read more: https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-in-albertas-grab-for-federal-cash-albertans-with-disabilities-pay-the-price