Albertans with disabilities deserve better
By Lethbridge Herald on October 18, 2025.
Bean Gill
Quoi Media
Alberta’s new disability program isn’t about empowerment — it’s about stripping support from the people who need it most
I never thought I would have to keep justifying my existence to the government, but that’s exactly what it feels like in Alberta today.
The United Conservative Party, under Danielle Smith’s leadership, is making harmful changes to the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program. They want to replace it with the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP), a move that will hurt tens of thousands of disabled Albertans.
This change is not needed, it is not wanted and it is dangerous.
Right now, people on AISH are being forced to “prove” their disabilities all over again. That means scrambling to find a doctor, paying hundreds for paperwork to apply for the federal Disability Tax Credit, and then applying for the new federal Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), which maxes out at just $200 a month.
And the cruelest part? Alberta plans to claw back every dollar of that federal benefit from provincial payments.
The CDB was designed to help disabled people survive as food, gas, rent and medicine skyrocket in price. Instead, Alberta decided to simply take it back. We are the only province clawing back the benefit — while also being the richest.
The government is trying to spin ADAP as “empowerment,” claiming it will help people with disabilities work while receiving supports. They say we asked for this. I know thousands of people with disabilities in Alberta, and not one of them wanted this change. At the Premier’s Council town hall on September 8, the message was clear: these changes are unnecessary, cruel and they will deepen poverty.
Under AISH, people can earn just under $1,100 before their income support is affected. Under ADAP, that drops to only $350 a month. The government calls this “opportunity.” It is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
Worse, the plan ignores Alberta’s employment reality. There simply are not enough equal opportunity employers for this to work. Resume workshops and interview prep programs already exist, many provided for decades by community organizations. The barrier has never been training — it’s employers unwilling to hire disabled people.
A friend of mine, paralyzed in a car accident, has a Canadian accounting degree. She applied for more than 200 jobs and didn’t receive a single offer. She was ready and qualified, but the moment employers saw her wheelchair, doors closed. If someone with her credentials can’t get hired, what hope do people with higher care needs have?
And now, on top of all of this, comes the claw back. Once Alberta takes away the federal benefit, people on ADAP will need to work an extra 13.5 hours a month at minimum wage just to break even. But how can they if they can’t get hired?
The desperation in Alberta’s disability community is real. There is growing chatter about medical assistance in dying (MAiD). People are exhausted from endless barriers and crushed by the prospect of even less financial security. Some now see death as the only way out of this government-created suffering.
That reality should horrify every Albertan.
Meanwhile, Premier Smith and Minister Jason Nixon didn’t decide to “find savings” by asking oil companies or their wealthy friends to pay their fair share. They chose instead to take money from the poorest and most vulnerable. We are left choosing between food, catheters or medication that keeps us alive.
And let’s not forget: Alberta is the only province without accessibility legislation, and the only one clawing back the Canada Disability Benefit. The richest province in the country is also the one most intent on robbing its disabled residents.
This is not just about us. Disability is not an “us versus them” issue. You can be born with one. You can acquire one through an accident or illness. Or, if you’re lucky enough to grow old, you will age into one. No one is immune.
What happens to disabled Albertans today will happen to you or someone you love tomorrow.
The changes planned for 2026 will devastate lives if we don’t act now. Disabled Albertans need allies to speak up and hold this government accountable. We cannot let Danielle Smith’s government pretend it is “empowering” us while stealing from us.
Disabled Albertans deserve dignity, stability and real opportunity — not political spin. So, I ask you: whose side are you on? Because one day, these policies could affect you too.
Bean Gill is an advocate and ReYu co-founder, who turns paralysis into purpose, empowering others, breaking barriers and sparking inclusion worldwide.
©QuoiMedia
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I wonder how many people realize that a severe disability can happen to anyone.They or someone they know could experience a disability at any time during their lifetime and become dependent on the AISH program. While AISH was never intended for persons with little schooling, the program was meant to aid persons with lifelong disabilities who would have difficulty thriving in the workplace.
With Alberta’s high rents and food prices, it’s difficult to imagine that a provincial government would not welcome additional monies for these highly vulnerable persons. The UCP believes that AISH supports are generous, however, I wonder just how many MLA’s could exist on the monthly support that AISH clients must contend with each and every day.
You certainly have got it right. The UCP and Danielle Smith are generous for giving themselves raises and caring for their corporate cronies. Anyone who is less fortunate, the UCP shows no concern.
https://www.stalbertgazette.com/local-news/timeline-of-how-lobbyists-with-ties-to-ucp-pushed-coal-policy-rewrite-10119621
My understanding. Province is not continuing 200.00 currently in place due to the Feds (same pocket) providing 200.00. No net loss. Also province requiring paper work to ensure those receiving AISH actually qualify for. How dare proof is required from an NDP sacred
cow. And the NDP tribal mob always, yes always wants accountability and transparency. But that is for someone else.
You have it all backwards. Time after time, you make yourself look more foolish. The UCP never wants accountability, or transparency, and kicks the most vulnerable in Alberta down further.
https://www.mylethbridgenow.com/9478/news/alberta-ucp-named-most-secretive-provincial-government-in-canada/
Former Red Deer PC Attorney General Jim Foster takes issue with Smith’s ethics violation | Red Deer Advocate https://share.google/JXtD7fjgWB6cV1kze
Yes, there is no loss of income for those on AISH as they are topped up by the federal disability insurance. Same is the case in other provinces. (Alberta has the highest financial assistance for those on disability, than any other province.)
The real disability issue facing Alberta is the Union fired TEACHERS STRIKE! Here the union is holding students as hostages while the Socialist union won’t even agree to enhanced mediation to end the ridiculous strike action. How sad.
Funny thing, I talked with several teachers who are neighbors and each say they don’t want to be on strike….. yet they voted 89% to strike??????
The government should proceed to legislate the teachers back to work and let the mediators impose a reasonable settlement.
Really pathetic and weak deflecting. Over there! Look over there! Much like Ralph Klein did, the UCP has treated teachers, students, and the disabled people in our province like trash.
curious how the likes of those that just bash unions, and fairness and decent and safe living and working standards for all, think it wise to use “socialist”, or “communist”, and now, of course, “liberal”, as terms of derision. the irony is that such folk ever present as equally thick as they do heartless and selfish and self serving in that they are so utterly misinformed as to what those terms really mean. i know, you believe that sharing is bad, and taking a whole lot more than one needs is a sign of success and even greatness. so much for pride, greed, envy, gluttony being among the christian 7 deadly sins. has one and ilk not any clue as to the religion one purports to follow? truly thick.
I suggest u change ur name to UCP Reality as u certainly have no concept of the real world.