Alberta to claw back federal disability benefit from AISH recipients

The federal government is rolling out a new Canada Disability Benefit this summer, but qualified recipients in Alberta won't see the extra money if they already receive payments under AISH, or Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped program.

The Alberta government plans to keep AISH payments at the same amount but take back the $200 monthly amount for the federal benefit. 

Jason Nixon, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, defended the clawback. Payments for a single person on AISH are $1,901 each month, which he said is the highest in Canada. He said the federal government set a minimum of $1,811 for provinces to meet. 

"We're going to continue to be committed to it and have already exceeded what the federal government has asked us to do," he said. 

"We can't continue to have rates as high as we have in our province compared to the rest of the country and then continue to grow indefinitely without seeing serious consequences to our AISH programs long-term." 

The first month of eligibility for the federal benefit will be this June with the first payments starting in July. To be eligible, individuals need to be aged 18 to 64 and have been approved for the Disability Tax Credit.

The government said not everyone who receives AISH will get the federal benefit. 

The payment will be considered non-exempt income under AISH rules. 

Even though the objective of the program is to improve the financial security of working-age people with disabilities, Ottawa can't dictate how provinces will treat it, a spokesperson for the federal government said Thursday in a statement to CBC.

"While recognizing that provincial and territorial authorities are ultimately responsible for determining how their programs will treat the new benefit, the federal government has called on them to exempt Canada Disability Benefit payments from counting as income in relation to provincial or territorial supports," the statement said.

Frustration and fear

AISH recipients are frustrated they won't get the benefits of the new federal payment. 

Charli McDonald said her husband receives AISH due to multiple disabilities that prevents him from working.

McDonald said life is expensive when you have a disability. For example, some of the medical aids her husband needs for mobility are partially or not covered by the Alberta government. She said rent in Grande Prairie is not cheap either. 

McDonald said people are frightened and despondent about the clawback. She said she is furious over the government's reasoning. 

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

"It was so gross, the whole statement. I was just disgusted."

Marie Renaud, the NDP MLA for St. Albert and critic for community and social services, said she has heard many stories about the hardship the clawback will cause after asking for them on social media. 

Renaud said they include people who live in rural Alberta who skip medical appointments with a specialist in larger centres because they can't afford the travel.

"It makes the difference between food bank usage or not," she said. 

"I heard from all kinds of disabled people that this makes a difference between [their] children being able to participate in sports or for [them] being able to buy new clothing or … being able to get a bus pass this month.

"That's how desperate people are."

Renaud said it was hard to get the government to admit they were planning to clawback the benefit in the first place. 

"I don't think it's something they're particularly proud of," she said.