For immediate release – March 20, 2025

The decision by the Government of Alberta to claw back the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) dollar for dollar will deprive support from tens of thousands of Albertans with disabilities who live in poverty. Alberta is the only provincial government to have announced that it will claw back the CDB from adults with disabilities who receive provincial income support. Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Manitoba and Nunavut have all committed to allowing adults with disabilities to keep the benefit that the federal government will begin paying in July 2025.

The decision to claw back the federal benefit intended to reduce poverty comes at a time when the provincial government has cut funding for self-advocate and family organizations, and has ignored calls to disclose how many 1000’s of children and adults with disabilities and their families are without needed disability support and to provide a plan to address the growing waitlists.

“The additional money the CDB would have provided people living on AISH like me, a bit of breathing room with years of rising housing, food and utility costs, but the Alberta Government has decided to take it away,” said Braden Mole, Vice President of Inclusion Edmonton Region. “I don’t think they have any idea how hard it is to live on AISH. The housing allowance alone that MLAs receive is $299/month more than my total monthly income on AISH. Receiving the CDB would have provided me with more money for groceries and other essentials. It’s not very noble, what the government is doing right now.”

“The CDB is meant to be a top-up, not a replacement for provincial disability income support,” said Trish Bowman, CEO of Inclusion Alberta. “Taking away a benefit that was intended to help reduce poverty for adults with disabilities is beyond comprehension. The government should never seek to address its budget challenges at the expense of those already disadvantaged and living in poverty.”

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Inclusion Alberta Chief Executive Officer Trish Bowman is available for interviews. Please contact Sara Protasow, Inclusion Alberta Communications Coordinator at sprotasow@inclusionalberta.org or 780-906-4693.

About Inclusion Alberta: Inclusion Alberta is a family based, non-profit federation that advocates on behalf of children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families. Together, we share a dream of meaningful family life and community inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities. As an advocacy organization we support families and individuals in their desire to be fully included in community life.