Alberta government to re-index AISH, seniors benefits to inflation

The Alberta government will re-index benefit payments to inflation for nearly 300,000 people, the minister of seniors, community and social services announced Wednesday.

Minister Jeremy Nixon said he's working to get Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), income support benefits and seniors' financial assistance unfrozen "as soon as possible," but could not provide a timeline.

"This is obviously one we want to make sure that we get right," Nixon said in an interview Wednesday. "Getting the right number is critical. And we also understand the urgency of this."

In 2018, the former NDP government tied the value of those benefits to the cost of living in Alberta.

After its election in 2019, the United Conservative Party government suspended that policy, saying the province couldn't afford the increased costs while running deficits.

The province is forecasting a $13-billion surplus this year.

According to Statistics Canada, the consumer price index, which tracks the relative cost of goods and services, rose 11.5 per cent in Alberta between November 2019 and September 2022.

The province says in July 2022, about 71,000 people were receiving AISH, 47,000 people received income support, and 176,000 seniors also received benefits.

Nixon's press secretary said there are no plans to change eligibility requirements for the benefits.

In a mandate letter from Premier Danielle Smith publicly released Wednesday, Smith told Nixon to adjust benefits to inflation "on a go-forward basis."

Bradley LaFortune, executive director of Public Interest Alberta, said that was disappointing because it could lead to benefit payments staying below the poverty line for years, he said.

"We need to make up for lost time, because it's a long time that people have been falling further and further behind," he said.

When asked how the government intends to account for inflated expenses over time, Nixon pointed to other affordability measures his government is taking, such as electricity rebates and a provincial fuel tax cut at the pumps.

Nixon is also tasked with reviewing how much workers in the social services sector are paid. Retaining employees who work in shelters and with people with disabilities is a challenge, Smith wrote. Nixon said the workers' pay has been frozen for too long.