Boosting income assistance for disabled in Sask. should be election campaign issue, advocates say

Disabled people receiving income assistance say their benefits should be increased after Saskatchewan's upcoming election, but advocates worry it has not become an issue.

As of August, there were 18,128 households in the province receiving Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) benefits, according to the latest figures the Ministry of Social Services.

David Swan, 38, who lives with Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, a disease so rare it occurs in "one in 25 million people," has been on SAID since 2009.

"I've gone through both deafness and blindness. I had extra toes and fingers when I was born. I was a conjoined twin. I've surpassed my [predicted] lifespan by 21 years," Swan said.

Swan has been living in Allan, a community 66 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, for the past six years because he couldn't find an affordable place in Saskatoon. His weight (600 pounds) restricts his mobility and often confines him to his small, one-bedroom apartment.

His mother, Karen Swan, 62, is also on SAID due to a brain tumour that still "doesn't go away" after three surgeries. She's also has only a single kidney and suffers complex post-traumatic stress and anxiety.

Expensive to be poor

Both get roughly $1,500 a month under SAID, including a $459 rental housing supplement, but they say it barely covers their expenses. They say SAID recipients get $18,000 a year, "half of the poverty level," pushing many into debt.

"It's a juggling act. It's either paying for food or clothing or paying for the internet and phone," David Swan said. "I'm constantly behind bills."

WATCH | Sask. mother and son describe difficulties of living on SAID: 

Sask. mother and son describe difficulties of living on SAID

2 months ago

Duration 2:30

David Swan and his mother Karen Swan live off Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) benefits. They say it's not enough money to support yourself without going into debt.

He has to pay delivery fees for groceries and medications. He said there's at least one week per month where he "doesn't have enough money for food."

Karen Swan said she is also "constantly in debt."

"My credit debt is at its limit, but that's how I survive," she said. "Do you know how expensive it is to be poor?"

Karen Swan says she is afraid she will lose her son or he will be all alone after her death and wants disability to be an election issue.

Moe, Beck weigh in

Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe said Tuesday that his party is committed to making Saskatchewan "the very best place to live for those that are living with disabilities."

Moe said if elected his party would increase the SAID income exemption — the amount of money a recipient can earn from employment without their SAID benefits being clawed back.

"A re-elected government will increase that employment income exemption by $1,000," Moe said.

"This will allow an individual that is receiving SAID to earn $7,500 annually without reducing those SAID benefits, and a family to earn $9,500 annually."

He said his party would increase the credit for families with disabled children if elected.

On Thursday, NDP Leader Carla Beck said SAID "is not meeting the mark."

"We've promised to return the option for those on assistance to receive direct funding for both rent and utilities, something that has caused a lot of hardship for people in this province," she said, adding the party hasn't looked into specifics of covering expenses like phone bills.

'Disabled people should be on the top of the list'

In Regina, SAID recipient Miranda Hanus says her previous apartment recently flooded, pushing her to homelessness.

"Sleeping in my car was once an option," she said.

Fortunately, Hanus has family support — a privilege she says many people living with disabilities lack — and found new housing. She is paying $800 rent for her new place, which she said dips into her grocery budget.

"SAID's not adequate at all," she said.

After this election, Hanus says, she wants the provincial government to work with the federal and municipal governments to solve the housing crisis and just not "pass the buck."

"There's a lot of people with physical disabilities that I'm seeing more and more on the streets. I don't know how they're surviving," she said.  "Disabled people should be on the top of the list."

'Can only afford Dollarama'

Food insecurity is a recurrent issue among the disabled community, according to Joseph Reynolds, 54. The Regina man says inflation has him choosing between buying a jug of milk or a box of cereal.

"It's either or, but not both," he said. "I buy less products when I go to the grocery store, just getting a lot of carbohydrates and no protein."

Reynolds says he has had to resort to "panhandling and borrowing money." He walks to avoid paying for a bus.

"I can only afford Dollarama. I stay away from places that are very costly, like Safeway and local mom-and-pop stores," he said. "I want to see the leaders pay attention to the issue of food insecurity and inequality."

Reynolds says the next government should increase benefits significantly.

• Watch more Sask. election coverage, including full news conferences, on CBC Saskatchewan's YouTube page.

'Benefit levels should be increased significantly': advocate

Peter Gilmer, with the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry, says the organization hears from more than 2,000 people a year from people having difficulty with provincial income security programs a year.

Gilmer said he hopes the next government addresses utility coverage for people on assistance. Referring to the auditor's report last year, Gilmer said 5,200 such households are dealing with significant utility arrears.

"Making sure that those actual utilities are covered is certainly a prime concern for us in this provincial election."

Gilmer says SAID benefits didn't increase from 2015 to 2023, and that increases in 2023 and 2024 were small.

"What we need is a plan to not only get them up to the poverty line, but beyond. We've talked a bit about tying SAID benefits to the minimum wage level," he said.

He says benefits are even lower in rural communities.

Disability not seen as an election issue: journalist

John Loeppky, a freelance journalist who lives with cerebral palsy, says disability is often not seen as a key election issue in Canada.

"You might see disability in a party platform in terms of health care or seniors," he said. "But as a specific voting block in Canada, I'm not sure we're seeing that."

He says disability sometimes pops up as an education issue, such as "classroom complexity," or might get a reference elsewhere, but not on its own.

"Disability is becoming part of more conversations, but it's just whether it filters down into platforms," Loeppky said.

"We're a better-off society if we'd know things about marginalized communities, but historically that hasn't been true for the disabled community."

Saskatoon Morning9:26Boosting income assistance for disabled in Sask. should be election campaign issue, advocates say

Host Stephanie Massicotte speaks with reporter Pratyush Dayal on his latest story.