Alberta government cuts supports for people with disabilities

An Alberta government that cuts supports for people with disabilities is asking for big trouble. But the UCP may be ready to try. Postmedia’s Sammy Hudes reported Friday , citing a senior government source, that the government is planning significant cuts to Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped. It’s significant that no official denied this might happen. The standard line is that everything is on the table for cuts, and the details aren’t settled.

The minister of community and social services, Rajan Sawhney, might have stomped on this story right away, if it were incorrect. Instead, she posted some lukewarm tweets that do not deny the allegation. Later she put up a Facebook post pledging that any changes will be made with compassion.

AISH payments go to Albertans who are truly disabled physically or developmentally, and cannot fully support themselves. The money, $1,685 per month, doesn’t raise people from near-poverty, but it at least helps them live in some dignity and independence. Among those most comforted by AISH are the parents, who see the payments as assurance that when they die, their loved one will not be destitute.

Nearly 70,000 Albertans receive AISH. They have relatives and friends. This is a surprisingly big and potent constituency. Most important, Albertans in general have always supported AISH. I don’t believe that even today’s hard times will turn people against those least able to protect and support themselves. Alberta AISH provides the highest disability payments in Canada. This has surely caught the eye of UCP types who bow to the MacKinnon report on government spending. But the decent level of support should actually be a source of pride, not criticism.

Ryan Geake, executive director of the Calgary Scope Society, makes another point that’s rarely considered. AISH payments are actually good fiscal and social policy. These people don’t take their money to Palm Springs. They spend every cent they receive on living expenses, usually within a very narrow radius of where they live. Their payments are actually an economic stimulus.