What you need to know about Alberta's $100 per month affordability payments

At a press conference on Monday, the government announced details of affordability payments coming to some Albertans.

Starting Jan. 18, Albertans 65 years and older who are not receiving the Alberta Seniors Benefit, as well as eligible parents with children under the age of 18, can apply online through the government portal or in person to receive $600 from the government.

The payments will be received in monthly instalments of $100.

The money is part of the affordability measures announced by Premier Danielle Smith in November.

To be eligible for the payments, a household must have a yearly income below $180,000.

The province will use 2021 tax information to determine household eligibility for the payments.

Parents will receive a total of $600 for each dependent child under 18.

In the case of parents who are separated, both parents must apply online, and each parent will receive $50 a month for six months for each child under 18.

In order to apply for the payments online, Albertans must have a verified account on Alberta.ca. 

Residents can apply for an account, or confirm whether their account is verified online.

The online portal to apply for payments will be available starting Jan. 18 on the same website, the government announced Monday morning.

In-person applications can be submitted at any Alberta registry agent, or through the 50 Alberta Supports offices located throughout the province.

Albertans who already receive regular monthly benefits through Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), Income Support, the Alberta Seniors Benefit, Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) as well as foster parents and Kinship Caregivers will automatically receive their first payment on Jan. 31 and do not need to sign up through the portal.

Payments will be received in the same format as the recipient’s regular monthly benefit.

They will also be treated as exempt income for AISH and Income Support recipients.

Recipients of these programs who are parents of children under the age of 18 can also apply online to receive $600 per child under the age of 18.

The government says the total cost of the affordability payments will be around $900 million, and will benefit about 2.5 million Albertans.

MIXED REACTION

The six-month term of the affordability payments will run into the upcoming provincial election campaign in May.

Political scientist Chaldeans Mensah says while the government is likely hoping to gain some voters, they are also in a position to help Albertans.

“There’s no doubt that the government is using the power of the purse to try to influence voters in the coming election, but at the same time, it’s the duty of the government, given the circumstances we are in with all the funds that are flowing in from the resource sector, to be able to help Albertans,” he told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.

He added that Albertans on AISH or other assistance programs will benefit greatly from the program.

“Albertans are going through difficult times here with the cost of living and I think any help they get from the government is going to make a difference for some people.”

Others say the government isn’t doing enough to help Albertans struggling with inflation.

“Quite frankly, $100 a month for people who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads is simply not enough,” said Bradley Lafortune of Public Interest Alberta.

The non-profit, non-partisan group advocates for advancing public interest in Alberta.

“We’re really concerned that, fundamentally, the provincial government doesn’t seem to be taking this problem seriously enough. They’re saying, ‘We’re going to wait six months, reassess.’ And in the meantime, people are going to get $600 if they qualify.”

Lafortune says his group has heard from a number of Albertans who don’t qualify for the affordability payments, but are still struggling to pay their bills.

Additionally, he’s concerned about how long it’s taking to get the cash to Albertans given the program was announced in November.

“We were hoping the portal would be open as of the second it was announced, and that Albertans could be guaranteed they would see cheques in their bank accounts in a matter of days, not weeks.”

“What we’re seeing a little bit in terms of even the timeliness question is a little bit of hedging from the provincial government saying, ‘It should be by the end of the month,’ but no guarantees essentially, so it is concerning.”

He also expressed worry about the use of a new, untested government portal to administer the program, instead of using the existing Canada Revenue Agency system, citing concerns about the Alberta Vaccine Portal that was rolled out during the pandemic.

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“If you look at other provinces in terms of how they’re administering affordability grants and credits, they’re using the CRA system. So it’s going to be direct deposits for Albertans who have filed their taxes in the last couple of years. There’s going to be no questions asked. It’s a system that we know works.”

“There’s absolutely no reason the provincial government needs to be creating an entirely new website and portal and system to administer these cheques.”

The government defended the use of the Alberta.ca portal at Monday’s press conference.

“In order to access the tax records to integrate for an automatic eligibility determination, the amount of time it would take would push us back months, and that’s simply unacceptable,” Nate Glubish, minister of technology and innovation told reporters.

“We have been working for the last two months on developing this portal. Instead of launching something overnight, we have taken the time to do the due diligence, to develop a safe and secure system.”