Alberta to claw back federal disability benefit from AISH recipients

The national authorities is rolling retired a caller Canada Disability Benefit this summer, but qualified recipients successful Alberta won't spot the other wealth if they already person payments nether AISH, oregon Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped program.

The Alberta authorities plans to trim AISH payments by $200, the monthly magnitude for the national benefit. 

Jason Nixon, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, defended the clawback. Payments for a azygous idiosyncratic connected AISH are $1,901 each month, which helium said is the highest successful Canada. He said the national authorities acceptable a minimum of $1,811 for provinces to meet. 

"We're going to proceed to beryllium committed to it and person already exceeded what the national authorities has asked america to do," helium said. 

"We can't proceed to person rates arsenic precocious arsenic we person successful our state compared to the remainder of the state and past proceed to turn indefinitely without seeing superior consequences to our AISH programs long-term." 

The archetypal period of eligibility for the national payment volition beryllium this June with the archetypal payments starting successful July. To beryllium eligible, individuals request to beryllium aged 18 to 64 and person been approved for the Disability Tax Credit.

Frustration and fear

AISH recipients are frustrated they won't get the benefits of the caller national payment. 

Charli McDonald said her hubby receives AISH owed to aggregate disabilities that prevents him from working.

McDonald said beingness is costly erstwhile you person a disability. For example, immoderate of the aesculapian immunodeficiency her hubby needs for mobility are partially oregon not covered by the Alberta government. She said rent successful Grande Prairie is not inexpensive either. 

McDonald said radical are frightened and despondent astir the clawback. She said she is furious implicit the government's reasoning. 

"Basically insinuating that you should beryllium thankful that we're giving you this and that we're not reducing your payments," she said. 

"It was truthful gross, the full statement. I was conscionable disgusted."

Marie Renaud, the NDP MLA for St. Albert and professional for assemblage and societal services, said she has heard galore stories astir the hardship the clawback volition origin aft asking for them connected societal media. 

Renaud said they include people who unrecorded successful agrarian Alberta who skip aesculapian appointments with a specializer successful larger centres due to the fact that they can't spend the travel.

"It makes the quality betwixt nutrient slope usage oregon not," she said. 

"I heard from each kinds of disabled radical that this makes a quality betwixt [their] children being capable to enactment successful sports oregon for [them] being capable to bargain caller covering oregon … being capable to get a autobus walk this month.

"That's however hopeless radical are."

Renaud said it was hard to get the authorities to admit they were readying to clawback the payment successful the archetypal place. 

"I don't deliberation it's thing they're peculiarly arrogant of," she said.