It’s time to confront how Canada is failing people with disabilities
CALGARY—This was a tough one to write, so living in it is a death sentence.
Last weekend, Bruce Johnson, an Alberta man with disabilities who was an advocate for his community, may have died by suicide as a final solution to the Danielle Smith government’s draconian changes to Alberta’s disabilities benefit program. His last message, delivered via Dropbox and posted on his Facebook profile, detailed his struggles with his condition, including his fears, anxieties, shame, and the living hell that he endured nearly all of his life. It is truly one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve read: “I have always been ashamed of not being able to earn a living and receiving CPP Disability and AISH for the past 29 years. Throughout that time, I tried working, employment and volunteer, when I could, but couldn't do it for long. Depression, anxiety & stress. It doesn't take long for me to get to the point when I can't think straight. I am unreliable. Useless. I don't deserve to live.”
On July 1, Smith’s United Conservative Party government will largely replace Alberta’s long-standing disability program, the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program, with the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP). This is a massive program cut in everything but name. The difference equates to about $200 less in income support per month. CTV News reports: “Under AISH, individuals receive up to $1,940 a month, but those who will now transition to ADAP will take home $200 less a month—$1,740.” That is government-sanctioned poverty. Most people will be transferred to the new program automatically, unless they are over the age of 60, or are “individuals with severe and profound developmental disabilities, people living in continuing care homes and those receiving palliative or terminal care,” as confirmed by CTV News. Basically, you have to be almost dead to receive a paltry extra $200 per month for the UCP government—and die someone did because they saw no way out of the poverty trap the government laid out for them.
People with disabilities are more than twice as likely to live in poverty compared to those without. Campaign 2000, a national, non-partisan advocacy group to end child and family poverty, gave Canada an “F” on addressing disability poverty. “People with disabilities would need an average of 30 [per cent] more income to reach the poverty line.” According to their 2024 report card, women who have disabilities “typically experience poverty at a higher rate than men with disabilities, showing a difference of about [two] percentage points since 2016.” They are more likely to be caregivers. Senior researcher at the University of Calgary Gillian Petit wrote on her Substack about the poverty levels that governments have forced people with disabilities to live with: “Even at maximum benefit and with no employment income, neither AISH nor ADAP clients are above the poverty line. That is not new—current AISH has always left recipients below the MBM threshold—but the gap widens under ADAP.”
The newly implemented Canada Disability Benefit only pays $200 per month. There is a reason food banks are oversubscribed.
The government wants more people with disabilities to find work without providing additional supports for that requirement. Their potential to find long-term work is limited. Firstly, to hold a job one must be able to be reliable and consistent in attendance and effort. That is not how disabilities work. Symptoms that impact work reliance vary, as does their intensity. These are not just physical ailments; mental illness can keep one from performing. The Canadian Psychological Association explains these limitations: “Executive functioning refers to mental skills that help you carry out day-to-day tasks.” It relies on cognitive skills such as inhibition control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. For workplaces, proper executive functioning is the baseline for the ability to perform tasks, managing time effectively, being able to meet deadlines, and the ability to balance multiple tasks or priorities. Medication is not a cure but a part of the basket of supports one needs to be able to function properly.
Johnson told us how cognitive impairments disallowed him to properly hold a job: “I can work maybe 2-3 in a day, but then the next day or two, I can't think, I'm useless. What work I do, I do too slowly. I make mistakes, no matter how careful I am.” As researched by Statistics Canada, “Nearly [seven] in 10 [68 per cent] persons with disabilities or long-term conditions experienced a barrier to accessibility during a hiring process or one that discouraged or prevented them from working or seeking employment.”
In doing the background work for this article, I have seen people with disabilities on Reddit forums strategizing survival, comparing the benefits of death with incarceration. One commenter wrote: “They would probably be better off committing a crime to go to jail for room, board for a couple of years than looking at MAID”. This is a reason I’m not a Stan for Canada. I know that how we treat, and develop policies for, people with disabilities are all proofs of concept for Canadian administrative violence, which is part of our ethos as a nation.
Erica Ifill is host of the Bad+Bitchy podcast.
The Hill Times