12/10/2025
Inclusion Lethbridge is deeply saddened by the passing of Bill 12, legislation that will push many Albertans with disabilities into deeper poverty and greater uncertainty. On Human Rights Day, we are reminded that disability rights are human rights — and policies that limit dignity, security, and inclusion harm our entire community.
If you or your family are worried, overwhelmed, or unsure about what these changes mean, please reach out. You are not alone.
*MEDIA RELEASE: Inclusion Alberta deeply dismayed by the passage of Bill 12*
Inclusion Alberta is deeply dismayed by the passage of Bill 12, legislation that will do what no one in the disability community asked for: dramatically change the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program and introduce the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP). At a time when living costs continue to rise steeply, Bill 12 threatens 79,000 Albertans currently on AISH and their families with a 10% cut to benefits and a 67% cut to fully exempt employment income. Striking out cost-of-living increases from legislation and restricting which decisions can be appealed makes Albertans with disabilities and their families even more vulnerable.
In passing this legislation, the Government of Alberta has ignored the frightened and anxious pleas of thousands of Albertans with disabilities and their families. They, along with former leaders and advisors in government’s own disability programs, organizations that represent and support people with disabilities, lawyers, economists, and the Alberta Medical Association, called for pausing the plan for ADAP and engaging in genuine consultation with the disability community on what changes could enhance disability assistance in our province.
“I’m terrified of the prospect of being labeled either ‘permanently unemployable’ or ‘somewhat employable’, and having my already meagre monthly income reduced,” says Ashton Kennedy, an Inclusion Alberta board member who receives AISH. "I don't know what this means for my future and if I will still be able to make ends meet."
Learn more about what Bill 12, and the changes being made to AISH/ADAP does for Albertans with disabilities: https://inclusionalberta.org/adap-facts-and-take-action/
“These are changes that no AISH recipient asked for: lower monthly benefits for an already marginalized population or being labelled permanently unemployable,” says Trish Bowman, Inclusion Alberta’s CEO. “Pushing Albertans with disabilities into deeper poverty betrays Alberta’s enduring tradition of moral decency and caring for members of our communities. It is indefensible that efforts to address fiscal challenges fall on the shoulders of those already confronting financial insecurity and multiple barriers on a daily basis. The fear and despair experienced by the individuals and family members who have been reaching out to us is palpable.”
Inclusion Alberta calls on the Government of Alberta to pause its plan to dramatically change AISH and introduce ADAP, and to engage in meaningful consultation on how to make AISH work better with those who will be most affected: Albertans with disabilities.
https://inclusionalberta.org/connections/media-release-inclusion-alberta-deeply-dismayed-by-the-passage-of-bill-12/
