UCP RULING OUT FURTHER DEEP CUTS TO AISH A SMALL WIN FOR DISABLED ALBERTANS

EDMONTON - With the Minister of Community and Social Services Minister Rajan Sawhney publicly ruling out further deep cuts to the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped Program, the UCP need now to reverse the damaging and harmful policies that they have already imposed on disabled Albertans.

After Postmedia reported that the UCP were planning significant cuts to the AISH program, Official Opposition Leader Rachel Notley and NDP Community and Social Services Critic Marie Renaud called upon the Minister to publicly commit to not enacting this plan. 

In a Facebook post Saturday afternoon, more than a day after Rachel Notley and Marie Renaud made this simple request, Minister Sawhney stated, “Let me state definitively that there will be no cuts to AISH financial benefits.”

“While I am relieved to see this Minister commit to not further cutting AISH benefits, it is still not enough for the community that has seen their benefits clawed back, and de-indexed by the UCP,” said Marie Renaud, NDP Community and Social Service Critic. “When this Government de-indexed AISH from the rate of inflation they cut AISH. Now that the Minister has committed to rejecting the plan for proposed cuts, we now call on her to develop a plan to actually support program growth and immediately reintroduce indexing of AISH.”

In her Facebook post Saturday, Minister Sawhney also confirmed that her review of AISH is going ahead. MLA Renaud called on the Government to commit to being transparent and to meaningfully consult with Albertans on the status of that review.

“While the Minister is conducting this review,” Renaud said. “We call on her to commit to being transparent and having clear and honest communications with Alberta to prevent the kind of fear and confusion they have created since their attack on disabilities supports began.”