ACORN Calgary says no to ADAP on IDPD!
Posted December 3, 2025
On the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, December 3rd, ACORN rallied against ADAP – the new program by Danielle Smith no one asked for nor needed.
The Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) is the provincial government’s new disability support program. The UCP wants to reduce the number of people on Alberta’s current disability support program (AISH) and are introducing a new program with work requirements and red tape in order to achieve these goals.
Disability payments on ADAP will be $200/month LESS than on AISH with the expectation that disabled Albertans must now work to make up the difference.
What the Government fails to acknowledge are the real barriers disabled people face in accessing and maintaining employment. Instead of addressing these barriers, the government places the burden on disabled Albertans to re-prove — at their own cost, time, and stress — that they qualify to return to AISH. Many will inevitably fall through the cracks: people with limited income, complex medical needs, or conditions that do not fit neatly into the government’s definitions. Even more alarming, ADAP review panel decisions come with no right to appeal.
ACORN and allies were joined by Global News and The Calgary Herald outside a local AISH office to present our demands:
1. Halt the implementation of ADAP
2. NO work requirements for disability payments!
- ADAP reduces disability payments, and expects people to make up the difference by working. WHETHER or NOT they are able to work. WHETHER or NOT there are jobs suitable for people with disabilities. WHETHER or NOT we can find an employer who won’t discriminate
- ADAP does not encourage people with disabilities to work – It PUNISHES disabled people if we are not able to overcome the significant barriers that are unfairly placed in front of us.
3. Raise employment income exemptions on AISH
- So those with disabilities who are able to work, can do so without significant clawbacks
- If the government wants people with disabilities to work more, they simply need to stop clawing back our income when we do!
Disabled Albertans and their families shared their stories, their fears, and their anger — and we are getting organized to fight back against a government that thinks it can target people with disabilities.
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