Minister Chester Gillan, cutbacks unavoidable

Million dollar cutback and lack of seniors keeps program from 95% of Islanders

December 10, 2006, updated with CBC video

Despite implementing the Disability Support Program (PEI DSP) in October 2001, the Province of Prince Edward Island has failed to meet the needs of Islanders with disabilities.

Only 1 in 19 Islanders with disabilities receives assistance from the Province and Seniors are excluded from any help. Further, the Province recently cut back $600,000 from the budget for the DSP without public notice. As a result, 50% of the complaints to the Information and Privacy Commissioner are concerning the DSP program.

The PEI DSP was set-up after years of cross-Canada studies determined that persons with disabilities were excluded from Canadian society due to physical, economic, and social barriers. The program provides funding for assistive devices such as wheelchairs, employment assistance to integrate people into the work force, and assistance with social integration.

The Province advertises the program as “open to all Islanders with a qualifying disability”; however it is only open to 1 in 19 Islanders with a disability through a series of policy decisions meant to restrict access and contain costs. Despite the increasing need for the Program, the regulations were revised this year to limit support even more.

The Province cut back the budget for assistance to Islanders with disabilities by over $600,000 in the current fiscal year. This meant people received as much as 45% less money for employment supports, wheelchairs and other assistive devices and for community access. These cuts are a continuation of the Province’s reduction in its commitment to Islanders with disabilities. Cuts are being administered to Islanders with disabilities who in many cases are living below the poverty line and who are not able, due to their disability, to make up the shortfall. No notice was given of this cut-back or opportunity to appeal the change in government regulations that were used to implement the reduction.

The Province’s exclusion of seniors is immoral. All too often PEI’s seniors with disabilities are seen using inadequate or no assistive device at all. Those over 65 are specifically excluded from the program, despite the claim that it is “open to all Islanders with a qualifying disability. PEI has more than 4,000 seniors with a disability who may require an assistive device. Seniors are more likely to require assistive devices and the total number of seniors with disabilities could double as the baby boomers age according to the 2004 Federal-Provincial-Territorial study “Support and Services for Adults and Children with Disabilities in Canada”.

50% of the complaints to the Privacy Commissioner have been related to the DSP making it the most privacy intrusive program of the Province. The DSP does not place its reliance in the trained and experienced health care professionals on PEI: instead it inserts is own bureaucracy to probe personal disability information of claimants. On a cost-cutting binge, the purpose of this information is to cut support and not to provide assistance to Islanders with a disability.

PEI Disability Alert is a not-for-profit group providing advocacy support to Islanders with disabilities.