That the Saskatchewan Assured Income Disability (SAID) Program is a program for people with significant and enduring disabilities who have barriers to employment. 

Current SAID rates mean that individuals who rely on the program live well below the poverty line.

Poverty has deepened in Saskatchewan because the Sask Party government has failed to increase the basic SAID amount in OVER SEVEN YEARS and does not account for regional realities of the cost of living.

The failure to increase the program represents a decrease of 20% of benefits since 2012.

The Sask Party government has made cuts to many additional benefits formerly available under the program, such as to the special diet benefits and rental supports.

The Sask Party government engages in heartless claw-back policies that have been found to be discriminatory, such as the policy of requiring individuals to apply for early CPP and then clawing it back dollar for dollar.

We call on the Sask Party government to:

1) Increase SAID rates to account for inflation;

2) Respect the constitutional rights of persons with disability in Saskatchewan by halting discriminatory practices and aligning policies with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms;

3) Index the SAID basic amount to inflation going forward; and,

4) Provide targeted relief to those in deepest poverty, such as single individuals paying market rent.

That Saskatchewan people are struggling to make ends’ meet under historical inflationary pressures.