‘We didn’t ask for change’: Alberta gov’t draws ire with tabling of AISH overhaul

Buried inside Tuesday's omnibus Bill 12 legislation were key changes to the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped program.

Key changes to Alberta’s disability support system are drawing sharp criticism from recipients, economists and anti-poverty advocates after the provincial government embedded an overhaul of the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program inside a wide-reaching omnibus bill.

Bill 12 would eventually see all 79,000 AISH clients moved into a new program called the Alberta Disability Assistance Program, or ADAP.

The government says the shift will help more disabled Albertans find work, but critics say the changes will reduce benefits, erode rights and make life harder for people who already struggle to meet basic needs.

Under the bill, all current AISH recipients will be transferred automatically to ADAP.

Under the bill, anyone seeking AISH benefits instead of ADAP would have to be assessed as having “a severe disability that permanently prevents employment”—a phrase left to be defined in future regulations.

“Bill 12 also bars appeals of the decision to move existing AISH clients onto ADAP and gives the minister power to decide which other benefit decisions can be appealed.

Shylah Brandt, who receives $1,901 a month through AISH and relies on the food bank to eat, says losing benefits would be devastating.

“I’m screwed. I’d be on the street,” Brandt said.

“My food is already gone. My cable, my internet—already gone. My transportation is already gone. That wouldn’t leave really much of anything.”

University of Calgary economist Gillian Petit, who has studied disability programs, says the government’s employment rationale rests on a statistic that has not budged for years.

“We know that only 16 per cent of AISH clients are currently employed,” she said.

“That means that 84 per cent of current AISH clients are not employed, and that is going to be, in my opinion, a very big hurdle for the government to overcome.”

Petit says ADAP’s lower benefit levels and the removal of the same level of inflation protection will leave people “able to afford less goods and services,” while many will still be unable to find jobs with appropriate accommodations.

“A large part of the issue is going to be, ‘Are there jobs available that have the correct assistance or accommodations for people?’” she said.

Public Interest Alberta executive director Bradley Lafortune says the sweeping bill undermines transparency and directly harms people with disabilities.

“Any government serious about transparency doesn’t change 14 laws at once,” Lafortune said.

“Danielle Smith is making a direct attack on the livelihoods of AISH recipients, moving forward with her nasty plan to move them to the precarious ADAP program, while also removing indexation (to inflation) from the legislation.

“And they’ve taken away the right of appeal for individuals who feel their transition to ADAP was unfair. … This is an absolutely shameful denial of access to administrative fairness.”

AISH recipient Larysa Armstrong says she has tried to find work but has been unable to secure a job.

“I would love to. I would love to be working,” she said.

“We didn’t ask for change. Nobody on AISH—especially those of us that had to appeal several times—asked for these changes.”

Assisted Living and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon says the changes are meant to encourage employment and modernize supports.

“AISH was not built to support those who are able to collect a paycheque. Disability (and) AISH-like programs across the country penalize people for getting a job,” Nixon said.

“We are making Alberta a leader in disability supports, inclusion and employment.”

Bill 12 also removes the legislated requirement that benefits rise annually with the Alberta escalator, instead leaving future adjustments to regulators.

If passed, the AISH reforms in Bill 12 would take effect in 2026.