Advocates say Alberta is ‘clawing back’ disability benefits, but officials say that’s not the case

The Alberta Legislature in Edmonton, on Thursday October 31, 2024.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson (JASON FRANSON/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Groups that assist Albertans with disabilities and their families are concerned the province “will claw back” the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), which provides critical funds for low-income residents.

However, the provincial government is disputing that claim, stating the CDB is just one part of the supports that show that Alberta has the highest disability benefit rate in Canada.

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Inclusion Alberta said Thursday that the provincial government was “clawing back” the CDB from residents who currently receive Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH).

In its statement, it said Alberta “is the only provincial government to have announced that it will claw back the CDB.”

Inclusion Alberta said Saskatchewan, B.C., Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Manitoba and Nunavut have all committed to keeping the benefit.

“The decision to claw back the federal benefit intended to reduce poverty comes at a time when the provincial government has cut funding for self-advocate and family organizations, and has ignored calls to disclose how many thousands of children and adults with disabilities and their families are without needed disability support and to provide a plan to address the growing waitlists,” Inclusion Alberta wrote.

Braden Mole, vice-president with Inclusion Edmonton Region, is an AISH recipient. He says the province has no idea how hard it is to live on the benefit.

“The housing allowance alone that MLAs receive is $299 per month more than my total monthly income on AISH,” he said. “Receiving the CDB would have provided me with more money for groceries and other essentials.

“It’s not very noble, what the government is doing right now.”

The Alberta government said AISH’s core benefit rate is higher than the federal government’s benchmark for benefit rates for Canadians with disabilities.

“At $1,901 per month, AISH’s core benefit rate is $533 higher than Ontario’s equivalent program rate, $515 higher than Saskatchewan’s equivalent program rate, $417 higher than BC’s equivalent program rate, and $554 higher than Manitoba’s equivalent program rate,” said Ashley Stevenson, press secretary for Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services Jason Nixon, in an email to CTV News.

Stevenson said AISH recipients are also offered personal and medical benefits worth more than $400 per month.

The AISH rate is not changing, she added, and it will have an annual indexed increase of two per cent. Stevenson says the only change is that the CDB will be treated as non-exempt income.

“The CDB will be non-exempt income for AISH recipients, meaning Albertans on AISH will continue to receive the same overall monthly support that they do today,” Stevenson said.