Over 92,000 Affordability applications have been submitted and approved through the Affordability Portal as of 5 p.m. Jan. 18, 2023.
The number represents 164,000 Albertans, including 120,000 children, who will receive $600 in inflation relief support payments over the next six months.
Eligible Albertans have from Jan. 18-June 30, 2023 to apply.
Those receiving financial support through the Alberta Seniors Benefit, Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), Income Support, Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) will automatically be enrolled and receive their first payment on Jan. 31, and do not need to apply through the portal.
Seniors 65 and older who are not already receiving benefits, as well as parents with children under 18 that have an annual household income of under $180,000 are eligible to apply.
Applications can be made online at https://affordability.alberta.ca/welcome. Applicants must have a valid Alberta.ca account, and will be asked to provide their Social Insurance Number (SIN) and banking information.
Those who can’t access the portal can visit their local registry or Alberta Supports location
Anyone needing help with their application can call the Affordability Action Plan information line at 1-844-644-9955, or the Verified Account support line at 1-844-643-2789.
Red Deer-North constituents with questions, comments or concerns about the affordability portal can contact the Red Deer-North MLA Constituency Office by using the contact form.
Alberta’s social sector is receiving an additional $24 million to address rising operational costs and workforce challenges.
Thousands of Albertans, including many in Red Deer-North, rely on the sector and services provided through disability programs, homeless shelters, and family violence prevention programs.
However, many currently on the Persons with Developmental Disabilities program are having a hard time finding and keeping staff, and the funding is designed to alleviate that.
About 20,600 front-line service workers will be supported through the additional funding, including 19,500 disability support workers, 1,000 homeless shelter workers, and 175 family violence prevention workers.
“Workers in disability services, emergency shelters and family violence prevention programs are providing critical support to thousands of Albertans,” said Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services Jeremy Nixon.
“Our province cannot go without these individuals’ dedication, which is why we are proud to support them in their hard work for our most vulnerable.”
Currently, the Ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services funds 179 Persons with Developmental Disabilities service providers, and 69 Family Support for Children with Disabilities service providers.
Another $2 million will be provided to disability service providers to to help with increasing operational costs, including utilities and insurance.
Alberta’s disability and family violence prevention sector has not seen an increase for operational costs since 2014.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, contact your Red Deer-North MLA office here.
Emergency wait times are set to be reduced through a program that will free up paramedics and ambulances to respond to more emergency calls – and faster.
Alberta’s government, along Alberta Health Services (AHS), is introducing the Healthcare Action Plan. Through the plan, alternative transportation will be arranged for transfer patients who don’t require medical support, allowing paramedics and ambulances to go where they are needed most.
“Paramedics are highly skilled health professionals who are trained to respond in times of crisis. We want to ensure their skills are being used in the best way possible while also ensuring Albertans are not left waiting after a call to 911,” said Premier Danielle Smith.
“Albertans have been calling for change and rightfully demanding a health system that works for them. By rolling out this program across the province, we will free up more ambulances and acute care beds to deliver urgent care, faster.”
As per a Government of Alberta press release, AHS expects 15 per cent of transports will be diverted from emergency medical services, allowing paramedics to respond to about 70 more transports per day once the program is implemented.
Alternative transportation includes wheelchair-accessible taxis, community shuttles, and other locally available options, and AHS will cover the cost of transportation for patients who are financially unable to do so.
AHS has identified four priority areas to both reduce pressure on the healthcare system, and improve its performance. The Healthcare Action Plan is just one of several actions being taken.
Other initiatives include:
Improving EMS response times through:
Supporting the use of alternative transport options.
Adding triage physicians in emergency department waiting rooms to support ambulance offload.
Performing secondary triage – sending 911 calls to 811 where appropriate.
Allowing paramedics to assess and treat without transport to hospital.
Implementing an EMS Provincial Service Plan.
Decreasing emergency department wait times by:
Improving hospital flow to improve use of emergency department beds.
Ensuring Albertans are aware of alternate options to visit an emergency department.
Expanding hours for non-urgent clinics at children’s hospitals.
Increasing dedicated Allied Health supports in the emergency department to support timely assessment and discharge of elderly and frail patient populations.
Partnering with community organizations to facilitate safe discharge from emergency departments for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Reducing wait times for surgeries by:
Improving management of wait lists.
Utilizing surgical facilities outside of Edmonton and Calgary hospitals.
Improving overall patient flow and capacity at AHS sites by:
Improving the community-based options for homeless and vulnerable populations requiring medical respite and convalescent care.
Increasing Allied Health supports to hospital care teams to support improved patient flow on hospital wards.
Adding additional hours of home care to support patients at home who are waiting for continuing care placement or to keep patients in their homes as long as they would like to and can safely be there.
Ensuring consistent seven day per week admission into continuing care.
The plan will be implemented as soon as possible across the province. Further consultation with patients, their families, Indigenous partners and continuing care providers will take place to ensure solutions are available locally, including in Red Deer.
“I want to thank all staff and physicians who are helping to get this new EMS program implemented and executed, and also the teams focused on immediate actions across all priority areas,” said AHS Interim President and CEO Mauro Chies.
Alberta’s economy continued to charge full steam ahead in the third quarter, a strong reminder of the importance of having the correct policies and tax structures in place.
Key messages:
Alberta is the economic engine of Canada, helped along by the pro-business and pro-investment policies that our government has brought in.
Our government’s efforts have been paying off and we continue to see investments pour into our province across multiple industries including aviation, manufacturing, renewable energy, technology, film and television and more. Alberta’s economy is truly diversifying.
On top of growing diversification in our economy, Alberta leads the country in job growth, year-to-date; a fact we can all be proud of.
A strong economy is important for the prosperity of Albertans.
