Dear Premier Ralph Klein,
My name is Glenna Ferguson. I have two diplomas, one from SAIT in Hotel/Restaurant Management and one from Mount Royal College in Community Rehabilitation. I am in my last year at the University of Calgary and will graduate with a degree in Disability Studies.
I write to bring your attention to the lack not only of affordable housing but the pathetic amount of AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) funding. If AISH was increased above the poverty line, the lack of affordable housing would no longer be an issue because recipients could afford to move out of subsidized housing.
I have been eagerly awaiting to hear about this issue in any election platform, but haven’t.
On Aug. 23, 1992, I was 17 and competing in a barrel-racing-like event when my horse tripped and fell on me. I sustained an extremely traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for over three months. I then struggled to relearn how to walk and talk. I have been on AISH since November 1999. During this time, my political views have undergone a dramatic change.
I voted for the Progressive Conservatives in the last two elections. However, this election I am looking for an alternative. In the past, I understood that debt repayment was a high priority so I accepted that Albertans would have to make sacrifices. Therefore a raise to AISH was a slim hope. Now that the debt is supposedly paid off, it would be truly wonderful if lower income Albertans could experience the so-called “Alberta Advantage.”
From discussions with fellow students, friends and colleagues I see the Alberta Advantage only applies to the upper-class, and sacrifices were only made by middle-class and lower-income Albertans. The rich get richer and the middle-to-lower-class is getting poorer. Is that fair?
I am truly disgusted with the government. How can anybody boast about a debt-free province which got there by cutting programs needed most by those trying to get ahead in life? To my knowledge, the last raise to AISH was only $5! And protesters were actually silenced by that! Where is the dignity that most individuals have? I guess disabled and lower-class Albertans are so used to being treated as second-class citizens, they believe it after awhile. To make matters worse, those programs that were “sacrificed” are not being reinstated now that the province is debt-free.
Ralph, you used to be one of the common men, that is one of your appeals to the average voter. I was wondering, what changed besides your income?