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The Government of Alberta has created the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP), a new income-support program with the stated aim of helping people with disabilities to pursue employment.

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Currently, people with disabilities in Alberta may qualify for income support under the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) Act. The eligibility criteria to qualify for AISH are stringent and the income support provided ($1,901/month) inadequate. AISH needs to be changed, but ADAP is not the answer.

Supporting people with disabilities to pursue employment is a laudable goal. However, the design of ADAP is going to make things worse for the roughly 80,000 Albertans currently receiving AISH.

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Bill 12, passed in early December, reduces benefits, and redefines eligibility for people with disabilities by forcing those deemed capable of working into the new ADAP program. It will make the lives of disabled Albertans living in poverty more precarious. There are