Mending the Safety Net: Social Assistance Reform in Alberta

Summary:
Page Title:Mending the Safety Net: Social Assistance Reform in Alberta – C.D. Howe Institute
Article Title:Mending the Safety Net: Social Assistance Reform in Alberta
URL:https://cdhowe.org/publication/mending-safety-net-social-assistance-reform-alberta/
Published Date:April 1, 2021
Accessed Date:February 12, 2025

Alberta’s Path to Social Assistance Reform

  • Alberta’s social assistance programs have been the fastest growing among provincial income support programs with caseloads doubling between 2008 and 2019.
  • High clawback rates and low earnings exemptions decrease the likelihood of recipients bouncing out of the social safety net and back into the labour market.
  • “Rather than improving social assistance through stricter eligibility criteria for access to benefits,” said co-author Parisa Mahboubi, “support programs should focus on increasing work incentives, reducing the cost of returning to work, and tackling other barriers to employment.”

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