Provincial funding through AISH for persons with disabilities will soon be accessible to those who have trust funds.
St. Albert MLA Marie Renaud said that the a proposed plan by the NDP is a good start to the changes needed with the provincial disability benefit program.
On Monday the provincial government introduced a bill, which would allow Albertans with disabilities to have trust funds set up for their care without it impacting their eligibility for the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program.
“I would be more excited if it was more widespread change but this is a really good start. This is a change that advocacy groups like Inclusion Alberta have been pushing for, for a very long time,” Renaud said.
Alberta is the last province to introduce legislation that allows for exemptions for trust funds.
Under the current system people who are living with disabilities are allowed a monthly maximum of $1588 in AISH benefits. If their family members have left a trust or if the person has assets exceeding $100,000, excluding their primary residence and vehicles for disabilities, they are no longer eligible for AISH benefits or can receive less money.
Renaud said that she doesn’t believe the proposed legislation would impact a ton of families but for those families the impact will be huge.
“For parents it gives them peace of mind to be able to do that and to know that their son or daughter will be financially secure,” Renaud said. “I think the people that it does impact will be very thankful and very happy that this is finally in place.”
Renaud said that not everybody has a family to take care of them and many people have public or private guardians who help mange their finances. She said many families just wouldn't have the ability to leave large trusts for their children.
“A lot of folks are scraping by making ends meet. A lot of families don’t have the resources to leave an inheritance for their son or daughter or set up a trust account for their son or daughter,” Renaud said.
The bill was first introduced as a public members bill last session by NDP MLA Brian Malkinson but the bill died on the order paper.
Right now the maximum amount of money a person on AISH can receive is $1588 and there are around 55,000 people using the program across the province.
