EDMONTON—Disability advocates say they are disappointed with the provincial government’s decision to continue consultations on funding for people with developmental disabilities, saying it will delay much-needed improvements to the system now in place.

Alberta’s Community and Social Services Minister Rajan Sawhney announced that the province will be forming a Disability Advisory Forum that will hold meetings across Alberta to discuss various issues related to the Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program starting in the fall.

This forum will follow work done by a panel of a dozen people, who were tasked by the previous NDP government with consulting communities across Alberta to identify gaps within PDD, a program that offers financial support to people with developmental disabilities beyond their assured basic income.

That panel released its final report on Tuesday, which outlined issues ranging from limited eligibility to qualify for PDD funding to difficulties navigating through the system.

But NDP MLA Marie Renaud, who was involved with the panel’s creation in 2018, said the report’s mandate was to come up with recommendations that would lead to significant changes in how PDD is administered throughout the province. Those recommendations were not part of the final report.

“They have halted any real progress or commitment to move forward. Now we’re back to consultation mode, which is a delay,” Renaud said. She added the program is a “broken system” that is in dire need of repair, and a delay would affect thousands of Albertans who could benefit from PDD, but aren’t eligible under the old, convoluted rules.

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Carla Howatt, provincial co-ordinator of the advocacy group Voice of Albertans with Disabilities and the mother of someone with a developmental disability, said she was disappointed in Sawhney’s decision to continue consultations.

“We were very disappointed to hear that it looks like there’s just going to be more research done,” Howatt said. “The problems are clear ... there has been fair consensus on what the problems are.”

She said people like her daughter are seeking answers on PDD and whether they’re eligible for support. “To me, it’s not helpful to the people in Alberta with disabilities who are living with this on a day-to-day basis,” Howatt said.

Sawhney did not provide clarification when asked about why the panel’s final report didn’t include recommendations, or the reasons behind shifting to ongoing consultations. But she said members of the old panel will be participating in the new advisory forum, and it will be convened in the fall to discuss exclusively issues of eligibility under PDD, and will move on to explore other problems raised by the report in the future.

“Eligibility is a key issue identified in the report, and by the disability community,” Sawhney said in a statement. She added the forums will not have an end date, but will rather be an ongoing tool to facilitate communication between the province and the disability community.

Sawhney’s spokesperson, Tamara Magnan, said it was too early to predict when concrete recommendations or changes to the PDD system will be made following the additional consultations.

While some advocates expressed disappointment in the news, Inclusion Alberta, a non-profit that advocates for the rights of people with developmental disabilities in the province, said it is hopeful the report and forums will foster ongoing connections and collaboration between the province and the disability community.

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“We sincerely appreciate the minister’s acknowledgment of the importance of listening to families, individuals and advocates and trust this will be reflected in the actions that follow,” Trish Bowman, Inclusion Alberta CEO, said in a statement.

Bowman added her organization is looking forward to the province’s launch of a Service Provider Partnership Committee, which will work as a link between the Alberta Council of Disability Services and the province to address administrative challenges with funding and other operational concerns.

Nadine Yousif is a reporter/photographer for Star Edmonton. Follow her on twitter: @nadineyousif_

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