Funding supports for Albertans living with disabilities were kept largely intact in the latest provincial budget, released Feb. 25.
The budget shows a slight bump in spending for Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) to $1.36 billion for 2021-22, up from $1.33 billion in 2020-21.
“I think they backed off some really serious plans that they probably had on the go to make some big changes to AISH. Instead, they just did a sort of little increase that does not match the caseload growth every single year,” said Marie Renaud, NDP critic for community and social services.
The province reported a temporary reduction in case loads in 2020 for AISH, Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) and Income Support programs due to COVID-19. It is expected that caseload growth will return to pre-pandemic levels in the coming year.
Renaud said the AISH budget is not big enough and she fears the government will be making changes to eligibility.
“It’s in the budget documents, (AISH) needs to go up about five per cent a year to meet the demand of people moving to Alberta, turning 18, becoming disabled – and this is a 2.5-per-cent increase. It's not enough,” she said.
Targets for AISH in 2022-23 are set at $1.42 Billion.
The government has also introduced performance metrics for AISH. Wait times to determine eligibility for the program was 12.9 weeks in 2018-19; in 2019-20, temporary supports brought that down to 2.6 weeks. The ministry would like to see wait times at seven weeks this year.
Renaud said she is worried about what means the government will use to reduce wait times. She has concerns the government will be “eliminating people at different stages (of the process).”
“When we go into estimates, I'll have lots of questions around caseload numbers, and I'll get better answers then,” she said.
Disability services saw a small decrease from $1.356 billion in the 2020 budget to $1.354 billion estimated for this year’s budget. Employment and Income Supports also saw a decrease – last year, the province budgeted $938.8 million and spent $809.3 million. This year, it is budgeting $856.6 million.
In a media release on Feb. 25, the province said it is maintaining funding to Family and Community Social Services (FCSS) at $100 million. It also pointed to a $5-million commitment to support employment for people with disabilities, a $7-million commitment to help non-profits and charities, and $2 million for new family-governed resource centres.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Alberta's most vulnerable citizens the hardest. Supports to help people make ends meet, live safely and independently and find employment in their communities are needed now more than ever," stated Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Community and Social Services.
Other issues Renaud had with the budget include a drop in funding to address homelessness. While the proinvce highlighted that there is new funding for 500 shelter spaces in Edmonton and Red Deer, the budget for Homeless and Outreach Support Services is pegged at $193 million for this year. Last year, the province budgeted for $195.8 million but spent far more – $248.3 million.
In response to COVID-19, the government spent $72 million for homeless and women’s shelters and critical worker benefits for essential workers. This spending, the budget documents said, is offset by lower demand for income support programs.
Renaud, however, doesn't understand the drop in homeless funding.
“I just don't understand this. I mean, cutting support for homeless people that are homeless during a pandemic is ridiculous. I mean, it's ridiculous in normal time,” said Renaud.
Overall spending for Community and Social Services is down slightly. Last year the ministry’s budget was $3.91 billion. This year, the budget is $3.88 billion. Last year's budget had sought to maintain funding at $3.9 billion over the course of three years.
Renaud does not think this budget bodes well for recovery.
“There is no plan. There's no imagination. There's no thinking outside the box. There's no look towards the future. There's really no vision other than, 'Let's spread the pain around and let's just cut everywhere.' It's just incredibly disappointing,” she said.
