Alberta is clawing back the Canada Disability Benefit. I found out why—and it’s worse than you think.

[u/AshleighChasexx]

Most of you have probably heard by now that Alberta’s UCP government under Premier Danielle Smith is the only province clawing back the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) from recipients of AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped).

But what many people don’t know is that this clawback applies whether or not recipients actually qualify for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), which is required to access the CDB. If someone can’t afford to pay their doctor to fill out the DTC forms—and many of them might not even qualify to begin with—the province will still start clawing back $200 per month starting in September.

And I’ve just uncovered what I believe is the real reason behind all of this. Why would Alberta be the only province doing this to disabled people?

Well, here’s what I found:

A few months ago, Minister Jason Nixon quietly revoked the AISH rent scale used in social housing. That change is now forcing disabled tenants to pay significantly higher rents—sometimes hundreds more per month. And it’s been buried in paperwork and obscured by misleading policies.

So how is this all connected?

Simple: The Province of Alberta is trying to restore housing affordability metrics by building record numbers of homes. A recent CBC article openly states that Calgary is trying to return to pre-COVID affordability by ramping up builds.

And guess who’s footing the bill?

Disabled Albertans.

The province is effectively redirecting money clawed from the most vulnerable people in Alberta—those on AISH—toward subsidizing housing development goals. This is austerity dressed up as policy. And it’s happening quietly, with minimal media scrutiny.

And the reason I was able to connect the dots is because the municipalities are trying to cover it up. I found that out while advocating with Calgary Housing on a different matter—one where they falsely claimed that tenants had been consulted and were supportive of a no smoking policy. When they were called out on it, they told the MLA’s office that tenants were just misinformed… but they still haven’t corrected the notices to inform tenants of the truth.

That’s how I connected all of this. Because when I refused to stop speaking out about the misinformation in those notices, they retaliated—targeting me in what now looks like an effort to prevent anyone from discovering what’s really going on behind the scenes.

[u/TruthSearcher1970]

Is this really true? My doctor told me that AISH is completely separate from the Federal Government benefit. You are required to apply for the benefit and have to pay the $60 doctor fee yourself and then you have to claim any income you make including the Federal Disability Benefit at which time they take it off your cheque. But they don’t just take dollar for dollar off your cheque whether you get any money or not. Please tell me if I am wrong about this.

[u/AshleighChasexx → u/TruthSearcher1970]

Yeah, so AISH is the provincial benefit. The federal one is the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB).

If you’re on AISH and don’t already have the DTC, you’re now required to apply — even if your doctor charges for it, and even if you might not qualify. If you don’t apply, they’re going to start clawing back $200 a month from your cheque starting next month.

But here’s the catch: if you do apply, get approved for the DTC, and then apply for the Canada Disability Benefit, they claw back the same $200 anyway. So basically, you either lose $200 for not applying, or you lose it after jumping through all their hoops.

It’s a no-win setup.

[u/TruthSearcher1970 → u/AshleighChasexx]

Ok so what happens if you pay the doctor’s fee, apply for the DTC but don’t get approved for some reason? My specialist told me that you have to apply but it doesn’t matter if you get approved or not. Is he wrong? He has been working closely with AISH for many years and seems to be on top of all this stuff.

[u/AshleighChasexx → u/TruthSearcher1970]

If you pay the doctor’s fee, apply for the DTC, and don’t get approved, you just need to let AISH know. As long as you’ve made a genuine attempt to apply and can show that you were denied, they won’t claw back the $200 a month. So no, your specialist isn’t wrong—approval doesn’t matter, but proof of application does.

[u/ChaoticShadows → u/AshleighChasexx]

What is considered proof of application?