Alberta cancer patient calls for changes to Income Support program

A Calgary cancer patient and his daughter are calling for changes to Alberta’s Income Support program after the repayment of a personal loan and a gift from the man’s father disqualified him from getting provincial support.

After Alain Thery’s moving business was shuttered due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, he started working contract jobs to make ends meet.

In late spring, the 63-year-old received a bladder cancer diagnosis, which required multiple surgeries.

“I had to go for a second surgery and again, (the doctors) didn’t get it all. So the bad news was that I was going to lose my bladder and my prostate,” Thery said.

“And then I had found another job after losing my job over (the cancer treatments). I lost that job and I’ve been struggling (to pay) my rent.”

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Thery, with the help of his daughter, Noelle Payne, applied for help from various levels of government.

“We’ve applied for CPP disability benefits. We’ve applied for AISH because he’s eligible for that, but that takes a few months to come into effect,” Payne said. “So in the interim we wanted to see if Alberta Income Support would help out.’

They accepted his application. However, for the month of July he was denied help.

A friend repaid a loan from Thery and his son gave him some money to help make rent, get medications and buy food.

“And since (the government) looks at your bank statements (as part of the Income Support program), they saw those e-transfers in and they did not give him any support,” Payne said.

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To add insult to injury, Payne said her father received a $1,500 cheque from the Cancer Society, which he cashed and kept in his wallet – a wallet that was lost and then recovered with no cash in it. And while Thery was in hospital for surgery, his roommate did a midnight move-out.

A statement from the Ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services said people receiving Income Support benefits can receive irregular cash gifts of up to $900 per household per year. That works out to an average of $75 per month.

“It’s a little bit confusing, right? We don’t have a gift tax in Canada, so I don’t think you should count it as income,” Payne said. “Not only that, you should be able to get help from wherever you can in those moments and not be penalized for that help.”

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Thery did receive Income Support for August, but said he’d like to see support amounts increased and tailored to individual needs.

“Alberta Works only gives you $920 a month, and that doesn’t even cover rent, groceries, anything,” Thery said. “If it wasn’t for the help of friends and family, I’m on my way to being homeless. It’s going to be a really tough six months to try to make ends meet and to make it through.”

The province said the Income Support program is intended to provide health and financial benefits for those in need.

“To ensure the program is assisting those who are most in need, the program is income and asset-tested,” Lisa Shankaruk at the Ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services said in a statement.

Shankaruk noted the program allows for income exemptions like the Alberta Child and Family Benefit, rent supplements, compensation for a harm done and some cash gifts.

There’s an eligibility limit of $5,000 in RRSPs and $10,000 equity in vehicles, as part of the program.

While doctors would suggest Thery focus on his cancer treatment and recovery, he said it’s a constant worry — where his next meal is coming from.

“You’re supposed to get better. No stress, eat properly. But in that situation, none of that happens,” he said. “I’m totally stressed. I don’t sleep very well. I worry. It’s not a way to live.”

“I just wish the government would be looking after the seniors. I mean, we work all our life. We pay tax into the system and at the end… they don’t care if you’re going to be homeless. And that’s where I’m going, to be honest, if it doesn’t get better.”