Disabled Albertans won’t get an additional $200 per month from the new federal Canadian Disability Benefit (CDB) because the province intends to claw back the equivalent amount from those receiving Alberta Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH).
The CDB is intended to provide eligible individuals with an additional $200 monthly payment; however, the Alberta government will instead reduce the monthly AISH allowance of $1,901 to $1,701, calling the federal support non-exempt income.
The first round of claw backs came on Sept. 24 and will continue until next summer, following the proposed implementation of a new provincial disability assistance program, the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP).
This affects a large amount of the province, with over 77,000 Albertans estimated to be AISH recipients in 2025.
Albertans with disabilities voice concern
Nena Greco, a Calgary AISH recipient, says the entire process of the new disability benefit was difficult to follow and felt that the whole process of the new disability benefit was very hard to follow, and felt the provincial government lacked clarity.
“They have made it very confusing and hard to get information because we no longer have individual [AISH] workers, and because I myself have a brain condition, it’s sometimes hard to understand and have things be made clear to me,” Greco said.
Greco also explains that the extra income would go a long way for her financial situation.
“The $200 would save my life. I would be able to eat more, eat better, live better, not live with as much stress, and not have to worry about paying my rent so much.”
AISH allows recipients to work a threshold of hours, but with that income being exempt income, but some recipients can’t work at all.
“I hope they consider releasing the $200 benefit to us because I know for me, it would make a massive difference, but there are other people on AISH with family and kids that I can only imagine what this has done to them,” Greco said.
Opposition slams claw back
During a press conference last month, Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi criticized the clawback decision. “The way that this government treats vulnerable people and the way this government treats people with disabilities makes me furious,” Nenshi said.
“They’re conducting a systemic attack on people with disabilities, an attack that is doing real harm to people.”
The governing United Conservative Party (UCP) defends its decision, saying that AISH contributes a higher provincial average of income to recipients with disabilities than the rest of Canada.