Enough Money to Live

Enough Money to Live

We have three ideas on how we can help Albertans struggling to meet basic needs: protecting social assistance, providing Basic Income, and, most recently, discussing a Canada Disability Benefit. We also help raise awareness about affordable transit, which is closer to the bottom of the page. 

We use a three-pronged approach to address having enough money to live. 

Crossing our fingers for AISH to be above the poverty line

1. Protecting Social Assistance 

One of our goals is to have enough money to live. Many Albertans struggle to live above the poverty line. We are pleased the Alberta government has indexed the benefit known as Assure Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH). The most recent increase was announced in December 2023 to be $1863 monthly—link to media announcement. 

We are pleased that the Alberta government indexed AISH and changed the payment date to the fourth or fifth business day of the month to help people pay their bills on time. To learn more about AISH and payment dates, visit this link. 

Historically, the last increase was in December 2023, and then in 2019, about 70,000 Albertans received Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH). Please visit the Alberta Government's "Your Guide to AISH." 

However, many Albertans with disabilities continue to struggle due to the high costs of living. We put together a resource page for people struggling to make ends meet, where to go for help, and encourage people to call Alberta 211. 

It costs a lot of money to live in Alberta. Calgary is the largest city in Canada, with the most expensive living expenses (including those in Northern Canada). People living on AISH still need to catch up, as we have seen increases in rent, food costs, and the government.

2. Canada Disability Benefit

The Canada Disability Benefit is a new supplement still being worked on. We are in new discussions about a Canada Disability Benefit, expecting the draft regulations to come out in June 2024 in the Canada Gazette. To watch and be part of the work, please visit the Government of Canada's Office of Disability Issues (ODI) website and follow along with us. 

The Investment

To date, the Government of Canada announced an investment in April 2023/2024  of 1.4 billion. Many Canadians with disabilities were disappointed about a monthly supplement of $200 a month, and not all get it. We also learned the Disability Tax Credit may be the way to qualify, yet many of us, about half of the population (600,000) out of 1. 4 million qualify for the Disability Tax Credit.  We sent a letter to the federal leaders of Canada about the investment, which can be found here. 

Many groups and networks participate in discussions across Canada. One disability-led group is Disability Without Poverty, which collaborates with many national groups, such as DAWN Canada, Inclusion Canada, March of Dimes, CNIB, and the MS Society of Canada (to name just a few).  

When was the bill passed?

Bill C-22 was presented at the House of Commons for the first time on June 22nd, 2021, and received royal assent in 2023. However, it is known as a framework bill as it still needs regulations and hopes to pass in 2024. There is a lot of work to do. 

Next steps... Draft Regulations

We also hope to help shape the regulations to include auto-enrollment if you are already eligible for provincial/territory disability assistance. The plan is to roll out the benefit in June 2025 if we can get all parties and provinces/territories to agree on a monthly amount and not claw it back for the legislation to pass and the benefit to be put in place. There is a lot of work to do. 

3. Basic Income +

We have been exploring basic income + now that the federal government announced in the recent throne speech to look at basic income for people with disabilities. 

We have considered what it could look like in Alberta, as the rent costs have remained unchanged despite the pandemic and recession. We must consider what a person needs to live and the services people with disabilities require to access the community. 

Basic Income, is it possible? 

We are exploring the idea of what makes up a basic income. We are also on the steering committee of Basic Income Calgary. To learn more about Basic Income Calgary and Basic Income Alberta, if you live outside of Calgary. 

Basic Income YYC Arts Collective 

In 2020, several artists from the Disability Action Hall were part of the Basic Income YYC Arts Collective, exploring basic income through the lens of Deaf, Disabled, and Mad. Please visit this link to see their fantastic artwork and collaborative images. 

Make it Big Conference 2019 

We recently attended the "Make it Big" conference 2019, where one of our members spoke on the panel. There is more work ahead! Check out this Basic Income Event video from July 2016, and for more information and the latest news, visit www.basicincomecalgary.ca  

Two years ago, we held a Dare to Stair event at McHugh Bluff to raise awareness of how expensive it is to live in Calgary. Please take a look at Courtney Robertson's video footage of the display. 

For many Albertans living on AISH, the increase will help pay for food, transportation, and essentials such as toiletries and clothes (currently, the majority of income assistance provided by the government goes to rent).


Coalition Work 

We are also part of several coalitions and networks, such as Enough for All,  Poverty Talks, and the Alberta  Ability Network, which also have websites. Our vision is that all Albertans will have a liveable income. Together, we worked on the 1188 Challenge, where we tried to raise "Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped" (AISH) to an amount that is enough to live in Calgary. (Stats Canada "Low-income cut off" ) and raising awareness of persons living in poverty. 

Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC). VCC is the steward for Calgary's Enough for All strategy. 

Please visit their website if you would like to be a part of Enough for All. 

About Affordable Public Transportation

We also work with the City of Calgary to help create an affordable City. We work with Fair Calgary Community Voices to help our city services be affordable for Calgarians. The City of Calgary pays the funding mainly, and the Alberta government pays 20%.

• To learn about Fair Entry, visit this link. 

• Learn more about the policy that helps our City decide what is fair using a human rights lens; here is the Social Well-Being policy. You can download a copy from the  City of Calgary website.

As you know, links to external sources are provided solely as a courtesy to our Website visitors. We are not responsible for and do not endorse or warrant in any way any materials, information, goods, or services available through such linked sites or any privacy or other practices of such sites. We want to give you a nonexclusive, nontransferable, limited right to access, use, and display the Website and the materials provided hereon, provided that you comply fully with these Terms and Conditions of Use. The information on the Web site may be changed without notice and is not guaranteed to be complete, correct, or up-to-date.