2018 May 31
Bill 5: An Act to Strengthen Financial Security for Persons with Disabilities passed its third hearing.1 The bill is a kind of successor to Bill 211 that was proposed in 2017 but only managed to pass first hearing. Bill 5 continued on to gain Royal Assent and take effect on June 11, 2018.2 In Inclusion Alberta’s statement about the passage of the bill there seems to be a sense of relief among families who will “no longer have to live in fear that providing for their child in a Will or inheritance results in their son or daughter with disabilities losing their AISH and being put at risk”.3 Bruce Uditsky, CEO of Inclusion Alberta and parent of someone with a disability, expressed his appreciation for the passage of the bill but makes clear that Government still has a lot to improve on in the realms of education and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.4
1. Legislative Assembly of Alberta, “29th Legislature, 4th Session (2018),” assembly.ab.ca, accessed July 23, 2018. http://www.assembly.ab.ca/net/index.aspx?p=bills_status&selectbill=005&legl=29&session=4.
2. Ibid.
3. Inclusion Alberta, “More financial security for families who have children with disabilities,” inclusionalberta.org, accessed July 23, 2018, http://inclusionalberta.org/news/2018/06/13/feature-story/more-financial-security-for-families-who-have-children-with-disabilities/.