Open letter to Premier Smith
By Lethbridge Herald on March 20, 2026.
Editor:
When Premier Peter Lougheed’s government established the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program in January 1979, it was so that those unable to earn enough to live, could have an assured income. In contrast to Bill 12 (Dec. 22, 2025) they were not “permanently unemployable”. AISH was specifically designed separate from the standard welfare system so that Albertans with severe permanent disabilities could live with dignity and independence. Premier Lougheed understood that we each live just one incident away from a severely disabling event.
Premier Smith, your government has eliminated “Assured Income” from AISH and continues gutting this program by: -July 1, 2025: clawing back the $200/ month Canada Disability Benefit.
-October 2025: increasing rent by $220/month for AISH recipients living in community housing;
-January 1, 2026: capping the AISH Inflation index below inflation at 2%;
-July 1, 2026: planning fund reduction to AISH recipients moved to ADAP by $200/month which they may make up through earnings.
Even though every person currently on AISH went through the exact same rigourous assessment and application process, they have recently been divided into AISH and Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP). On March 8, 2026, Assisted Living and Social Services (ALSS) announced specific AISH groups “need not reapply” (i.e. remain on AISH): palliative patients, people over 60 and individuals receiving
Persons with Developmental Disabilities
(PDD) services. No reasons were given for exclusion of those with severe physical and mental disabilities.
wAs ALSS has given no justification for their March 8th changes, no-one should be forced onto ADAP to reapply for AISH. All current recipients should remain on AISH as it was, working if they wish. Please cancel the cruel ADAP before it causes any more anxiety and grief to individuals on AISH, their families and advocates. Thank you.
Bev Muendel-Atherstone, Chair
Lethbridge Friends of Medicare
13-12
A great written letter. Much better than the letters of fiction that are written in The Sun newspapers, and in the Calgary Herald, and the Edmonton Journal.
The UCP and Danielle Smith do not care about those on AISH. The UCP de-indexed AISH to the rate of inflation, which is a cut. As Alberta has the highest rate of inflation in Canada for many years, or has been close to it, this makes it harder for those on AISH to live. Without any warning, the UCP changed the payment dates for AISH clients from 4 banking days before the first day of the next month, to the first day of the next month. AISH clients had to go longer on less, and they also couldn’t pay their rent, or their bills on time, making them default on those things, and it got worse for them. The UCP then reversed that, quite a while later, after a huge outcry happened. The UCP cut off different supplemental benefits to AISH, which also made matters worse for them. The UCP blew $80 million on Turkish Tylenol, and $49 million of that money is still missing. Coincidentally, that $49 million is what the UCP cut off from the AISH budget. The UCP were the only government in Canada, from the provinces and the territories to claw back the federal Liberal’s $200 per month disability supplement. $200 per month could go a long way for those on AISH. There is also a lack of affordable housing in Alberta, and rents are very costly. Power is also very expensive, due to Ralph Klein’s deregulation of electricity, TransAlta manipulating power prices, and economic withholding from the UCP. What little affordable housing there is, the UCP and Danielle Smith increased the rent for that. ADAP for AISH, will make these people even poorer than they already are.
It seems that the UCP are only concerned about themselves, and their wealthy corporate buddies. The Skybox scandal, and other big perks that Danielle Smith and UCP members and staff got is incredible. Danielle Smith even got a golden cat, from a Saudi Arabian official.
On her own phone in radio talk show, this month, Danielle Smith said that she wants to see all Albertans who are on AISH, off of AISH, and working.
https://x.com/TheBreakdownAB/status/2030771360243572799?s=20
https://x.com/TheBreakdownAB/status/2030773909579325671?s=20