Parents plead to protect disability programs
Some parents of people with disabilities are begging the Alberta government not to cut the programs essential to their children.
"I'm sick about it. I'm very nervous. I'm afraid that I'll leave work. I don't know what we'll do for income. I don't know. Maybe we'll go on welfare. I don't know," said Bev Mah, whose daughter has Trisomy 18, a rare genetic disorder.
Sarah Mah, 20, weighs 55 pounds, cannot speak, and uses a wheelchair. A day program that provides care for Sarah frees Bev up to work, but she fears possible cuts in the Feb. 9 provincial budget will take that away from her.
The province announced plans last month to cut about two per cent — or $12 million — from the budget for people with developmental disabilities due to pressures from the economic downturn.
Many groups who provide social programs refused to slash their operating budgets, arguing they had nowhere else left to cut.
"We've always had a struggle with funding from the government. But … I don't think it's ever been this bad," said Doug Hauser, head of the Universal Rehabilitation Service Agency, where Sarah spends her days. "It just isn't right."
Sarah and Bev Mah were part of a news conference organized in Calgary Wednesday by the Alberta Liberals to call attention to the impact of the cuts.
"I was disgusted," said Teena Prevost, whose son Corey is a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. "He doesn't understand what the cuts mean and if we don't speak out on their behalf, then we're doing them a disservice. It's putting them at risk."
'I'm going to keep beating the bushes'
Mary Anne Jablonski, Alberta's minister for seniors and community supports, tried to reassure citizens that the cuts won't sacrifice what people with disabilities require.
"The health and safety of individuals will not be put at risk," she said in a statement on Wednesday.
Jablonski pointed out the people with development disabilities budget this year is $604 million, which works out to more than $60,000 on average for each of the 9,200 Albertans who use the program.
"I'm going to keep beating the bushes. We've got to find the two per cent. Like I said, there are some agencies that are co-operating and helping us out and our boards are working hard at finding that as well, so we'll keep working and we'll see what we end up with," Jablonski told CBC News.