By Bobbi Turko, Executive Director, I Can for Kids Foundation, and Anita Chowdhury, Branch Coordinator, Mamas for Mamas
Published in Calgary Herald, March 13, 2026: Albertans with disabilities face unfair income cuts, food insecurity | Calgary Herald
Across Alberta, people with severe disabilities are being pushed into poverty and food insecurity by the very systems that are meant to support them.
About 79,000 working-age adults live with severe disabilities, most trying to survive on government benefits through the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program, because they cannot earn enough on their own. As costs rise, every month becomes a struggle to keep a roof overhead, and pay for heat, power, prescriptions, and groceries.
People with severe disabilities face a higher risk of having too little income for food – 15 per cent struggle with severe food insecurity compared with 2 per cent of those without disabilities. Many must restrict food intake, skip meals, and sometimes endure days without eating.
Now, their lives are becoming even more unstable. Changes and clawbacks to government benefits could push them over the edge. These aren’t abstract policy shifts – they’re purposeful cuts leading to empty fridges, unpaid bills, and impossible choices. In a province as economically healthy as Alberta, it’s unacceptable to treat our most vulnerable citizens this way. We need more effective, compassionate policies.
Alberta’s track record of benefit cuts and clawbacks
Consider Alberta’s track record when it comes to disability benefits. These policy decisions force impossible trade-offs for people who already cannot meet basic needs:
- AISH benefits max out at $1,940 a month. In 2024, AISH introduced a 2 per cent cap on annual cost-of-living increases. Benefits lose purchasing power in times of high inflation, making it even harder to get by.
- In 2025, Alberta raised AISH Community Housing rents by $220 per month – a 63 per cent increase that cuts into grocery budgets.
- Also in 2025, the federal government introduced the $200 per month Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), to help reduce poverty. Alberta was the only province to unfairly claw back AISH benefits to offset the CDB, leaving recipients no further ahead.
- In July, a new Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) will replace AISH for people with severe disabilities deemed capable of some employment. These folks will face another $200 per month cut in benefits in 2028 (reducing the maximum to $1,740), unless they obtain a new medical assessment that confirms they cannot work. This will push many below the deep income poverty threshold.
- AISH continues only for people deemed permanently unable to work, creating a dehumanizing two-track system.
Strengthening disability supports is essential
Disabilities come with higher expenses: special diets, medications, therapies, equipment, personal care, and accessible housing and transportation. Caregivers may also be unable work due to the support required by a family member with a disability. There is limited to no coverage for most of these costs.
At I Can for Kids, we support food-insecure families and children with a first-of-its-kind grocery gift card program delivered through a diverse network of frontline agency partners. We know that food insecurity is not about a shortage of food, but a shortage of income. In 2025, 1 in 4 households who accessed our program included an adult with a disability, while 1 in 5 had a child with special needs.
This reality is mirrored in the families served by Mamas for Mamas Calgary. Their sharing economies online and at in-person, community‑driven Karma Markets provide dignified access to essential needs.
These grassroots organizations reflect how Albertans show up for each other. They help narrow the gap through charitable giving and volunteer work. But charity can’t meet the scale of this crisis. We need effective government policies that show an equal amount of compassion and care for all citizens.
When governments knowingly leave people with disabilities without enough income to meet basic needs, it’s both a moral and a policy failure. Alberta can choose differently. If we believe that everyone deserves the dignity of adequate food, shelter, and care, then protecting and strengthening disability supports is not optional, it’s essential.
References:
- Statistics Canada: Table 13-10-0374-01 Persons with and without disabilities aged 15 years and over, by age group and gender (2022)
- Government of Alberta: Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) Caseload (September 2025)
- Statistics Canada: Household food insecurity among persons with disabilities in Canada (2021 Canadian Income Survey)
- CARDUS Research: Still Not Enough – How to fix the Canada Disability Benefit to Really Help Canadians with Disabilities (January 2026)
- Vibrant Communities Calgary/Enough for All: A Closer Look at Alberta’s New Indexation Framework for Income Supports (2024)
- Disability Policy Research Program: Losing the Canada Disability Benefit means losing hope for many Albertans (July 2025)
- Inclusion Alberta[HO1] [PN2] : The difference between almost living and barely existing: On the heels of previous cuts, Alberta Government raises rent by 63% for AISH tenants in Community Housing (July 2025)
- Inclusion Alberta: Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) would cut AISH by $200/month. The facts and how to take action (December 2025)
- I Can for Kids Foundation
- Mamas for Mamas
