Able-bodied Canadians (especially Albertans): please take notice, and please take action, however you personally see fit to do so.
From Inclusion Alberta:
"The Government of Alberta’s decision to claw back the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) – a federal benefit intended to help lift Canadians with disabilities out of poverty – from AISH recipients is punitive, mean-spirited and undermines the benefit’s fundamental purpose. Now, to add insult to injury, they have informed AISH recipients they must apply for the benefit, which requires going through a time-consuming and complex eligibility process that requires applying for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) which often can cost as much as $300, so that, should they be eligible, the government can reduce their AISH by the corresponding amount. This is an unconscionable decision to take money meant to improve the lives of people with disabilities and redirect it to government coffers."
“At the same time as this government is cutting income taxes, it is effectively adding close to 10% tax on disability by clawing back up to $200/month of what would be the combined amount of AISH and CDB,” says Inclusion Alberta CEO Trish Bowman. “What moral justification could there possibly be for leaving Albertans with disabilities to live off less than MLAs receive for their taxpayer-funded housing allowance? To suggest the amount of AISH alone is adequate shows just how out of touch this government has become with the realities of people with disabilities and their families.”
You can read this media release further, at the below link:
https://inclusionalberta.org/connections/media-release-government-of-alberta-requires-people-with-disabilities-on-aish-to-apply-for-federal-benefit-and-will-reduce-aish-for-those-who-receive-it/
#CanPol #ABpol #disability #Alberta #Edmonton #Calgary #RedDeer #ableism #austerity
Edit: To apply for the CDB on the online portal: all you need is your SIN (social insurance number), your 2024 tax assessment (one line of information), and your bank information (they probably already have it from your tax return auto-deposit information).