It’s often said that a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens.

I’m not sure the UCP government gets the message.

Alberta conservative politicians of all stripes have been suspicious of people on AISH for decades.

In the 2004 election campaign, then-PC premier Ralph Klein was confronted by two female AISH recipients who had complaints.

He said they didn’t look handicapped at all.

They wore cowboy hats and had cigarettes dangling from their mouths.

He implied they were fraudsters ripping off Alberta Income for the Severely Handicapped.

Many on AISH came to believe, with good reason, that the government thinks they’re cheaters.

Recipients live in constant dread of losing benefits. These people can be thrown into poverty with the flick of a bureaucrat’s finger.

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