Alberta NDP MLA's Shannon Phillips and Marie Renaud call on Former Alberta Minister of Finance Travis Toews to re-index AISH, June 21, 2022 (Photo: LNN)

By Drew Stremick/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Alberta NDP calls on Travis Toews not to wait to re-index AISH

Jun 22, 2022 | 12:45 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Two NDP MLAs are urging former Alberta minister of finance and current UCP leadership candidate Travis Toews not to wait to fulfill a commitment.

Lethbridge-West MLA Shannon Phillips and St. Albert MLA Marie Renaud are asking Toews to request a return to the Alberta Legislature in order to re-index the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) benefit to offset inflation.

The calls for Toews to re-index AISH come after Toews spoke to reporters at a leadership campaign event in Lethbridge on June 17, where he said he would commit to re-indexing programs that were paused.

“Recognizing inflation pressures, I will certainly commit to re-indexing our personal tax system in the future,” said Toews. “And, I will commit to re-indexing those programs that were paused for a period of time.”

Travis Toews addresses the crowd at a leadership campaign event in Lethbridge on June 17, 2022. (Photo: LNN)

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Phillips says she and the rest of the Alberta NDP are willing to give Toews the opportunity to follow through on his committment.

“Let’s give Mr. Toews and the rest of them a chance to prove they are sincere,” Phillips said at a Tuesday news conference. “Now, Mr. Toews claims to be supported by 24 UCP members of the Legislative Assembly, including Mr. Grant Hunter, just down the road in Taber-Warner. Those MLAs, plus us, in the official Opposition who have said that, of course benefits should be indexed to inflation, we have a majority in the Assembly. We have the numbers to halt the UCP tax grab and their clawback of benefits right now, today, tomorrow at their earliest convenience.”

Since AISH was de-indexed from inflation in the 2019 budget, spending for AISH has increased. Since 2018, AISH has received an additional $229 million, to bring the total to almost $1.4 billion annually, which is an increase of 20 per cent over a four-year period, when compared to the 2018 budget of $1.1-billion.

However, the number of Albertans who rely on AISH for income support has also increased from 61,555 as of December 2018, to 70,186 in December of 2021. So, even with the increased funding, the dollar amount that recipients receive each month hasn’t increased enough to keep up with the rapidly rising cost of living.

Phillips says due to inflation, everyone is worried about the rising cost of living, and she says after three years of being in power, the UCP has done little to help Albertans that are struggling.

“We hear from people that life is increasingly unaffordable. The cost of fuel, groceries, utilities, children’s clothing, the basic necessities of life have been increasing, and far too many families are worried about how they’ll make ends meet,” said Phillips.