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SASKATOON — For many families and individuals, navigating the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) program is a complex and inaccessible process. They describe the system that provides needed support to disabled and vulnerable individual as essential but difficult to access, of insufficient value, and with limits.
Dawnette Brett, a mother of three children with disabilities, said it was difficult for her family to find clear information when applying to have their oldest child included in SAID. She said that before, it involved long phone wait times, extensive financial disclosure and medical verification, and approval could take around three months or longer, delaying urgently needed support.
“At the time, there were three levels of disability and your level, along with your living situation, determined how much you were eligible to receive. There was also paperwork to fill out as we are our child’s trustee — we help oversee her finances. Once we submitted all the paperwork, a review was done, and our child was accepted into the program,” Brett told SaskToday.
“It took about three months to get the acceptance and get her first payment. I have heard it is much longer now, but I can’t speak to it. We were given a few rules, but the information was limited. After three years, we were sent a letter and a form that doctors needed to complete to review her case and ensure she was still eligible for the program.”
She added that it remained the same even with newer online applications, with families reporting confusion, poor communication and difficulty getting timely help. At the same time, many parents say individuals with disabilities would struggle to complete the process independently due to inconsistencies in information and communication.
Rules, benefits and eligibility criteria are often unclear or inconsistently explained by caseworkers, leading to frequent turnover that disrupts continuity of care and guidance. Families report difficulty accessing accurate information, unclear payment details, long delays in responses or reimbursements, and basic administrative issues, like late payments, lack of direct deposit for trustees, etc., cause more stress.
“Now, you can apply online. I haven't gone through the process yet, but I’ll do it with my youngest at the end of the year. I’ve heard from at least five people in the last three months that the current process has been extremely frustrating. It's hard to get the right information or speak with someone in person and get timely responses. Not everything is listed upfront,” added Brett.
“Many of us parents comment that our kids could not have gotten through the process without us. If we, as people who do not have a disability, are lost and frustrated, how do those who have additional challenges and no supports wade through it? This program was initially designed to help people who could not work due to disability, but this is concerning.”
Bonita Hartman, another parent who takes care of her disabled child, said caregiving under SAID is a responsibility that extends far beyond finances. But while she expresses gratitude for the program, the support it provides falls short of what is needed to ensure stability or dignity, with benefits capped and strict asset limits in place, families are often unable to save for basic needs.
“SAID is just a small amount of money that helps us get by. The system has rules in place that prevent anyone with a disability from living above the poverty line. That’s how I look at it. I don’t want to sound ungrateful for any amount of money. But there could be vast improvements in the way people with disabilities are treated,” she added.
“They could make it easier on parents who are caring for their children by not making them prove over and over again why they need the money or how they are using it. I’m doing everything I can to ensure his needs are met and he has a quality of life. The challenge is being completely responsible for someone else’s life.”
Hartman said her child’s independence would be impossible without family support, highlighting a broader concern that the system assumes a safety net not available to all recipients, and for families, “getting by” often means quietly filling the gaps themselves by covering rent shortfalls, paying for uncovered medications and providing round-the-clock care when needed.
First-hand experiences
Wendy McCallum, who has been on SAID since 2007, says the program’s stagnant rates have left her without stable housing, as rising costs have forced her to make impossible choices between rent, food and necessities. She is currently unhoused due to inadequate funding, spending nights in shelters, drop-in centres or wherever she can find a place to stay.
“I have to choose. You pick what you’re going to pay for. The cost of living is too high. I can't afford it anymore. One night, shelters were full, and I was left on the streets or in the hospital waiting rooms to stay warm. The SAID rates need to increase so that people with disabilities can survive. Rent has gone up, along with everything else,” said McCallum.
McCallum joined Fran and Skylar Frosberg, Colette Warlow and Saskatchewan NDP shadow minister for disabilities Brittney Senger in a media availability event on Thursday, March 26. They called on the government to increase social services by 0.4 per cent.
McCallum added that she has to budget money for rent to have a place to stay or for food so she doesn't go hungry. However, the money provided in the program does not keep pace with rising costs, and at the same time, it has become harder to navigate, and there are not enough resources, like shelters that are often full, to assist disabled people like her.
That is why, without advocates like Fran and her daughter, Skylar, and Prairie Underdog Advocacy owner Warlow intervening on behalf of those who fall through the cracks, many individuals would continue to struggle to maintain their benefits, pay their bills or even access basic services. They may soon end up on the streets.
Fran, who joins several other families in regularly distributing food to unhoused residents in Saskatoon, said she has seen more people with visible disabilities on the streets, many of whom either cannot access SAID or cannot survive on the support it provides. In many cases, survival depends not on the program itself, but on the resilience and support networks surrounding it.
“I don’t know how they survive. I know I wouldn’t. What we observed every Sunday is that there were so many people with disabilities who were unhoused. We are seeing more and more of this. We've been doing this for three years. It is getting worse. We see people with health issues, in wheelchairs, amputees, and who are neurodivergent living on the street,” said Fran.
“Life is hard enough for many of our Saskatchewan people. If you can't be part of the solution, please stop being part of the problem. I challenged the premier [Scott Moe] and his all-white cabinet to live for a month on a $1,020. It is impossible in this province, in this city, and a reminder to the premier and his cabinet that he is to represent all people of this province, not just a chosen few.”
Skylar, who followed the footsteps of her foster mother and is now working with underprivileged youth in the city, said new regulations set by the government could increase homelessness in communities and will take away safety nets that cost so little in the provincial budget, but are lifelines for people with disabilities.
Warlow says she has personally supported people out of her own home and budget by providing food, shelter and care when the system falls short. She has helped more than a dozen individuals through Prairie Underdog Advocacy navigate SAID, something that she does unpaid because clients cannot afford assistance.
“They don’t understand the complex conversations, and the workers don’t understand the clients. That’s where the breakdown happens. A system where communication frequently breaks down, especially for individuals with intellectual disabilities. In more severe cases, the consequences can be devastating,” said Warlow.
Opposing views
The government and opposition again presented different facts and opinions regarding SAID’s adequacy and direction, each offering contrasting narratives about support for vulnerable residents. Senger characterized recent policy decisions as harmful to people relying on the program, while the government emphasized sustained increases and structural improvements to the program.
Senger argued that changes in the latest provincial budget are deepening financial strain for SAID recipients already struggling with rising living costs, and further pointed to payment delays as an early warning sign of broader systemic issues. She also criticized what she described as minimal increases in social services spending that fail to reflect the realities low-income residents face.
At the centre of her concerns is the gap between SAID income levels and housing costs. Individual recipients in major urban centres receive about $1,159 per month, she said, while average rents for a one-bedroom apartment are now around $1,200, which leaves many SAID beneficiaries unable to cover even basic shelter.
“When your income arrives late and still doesn’t cover the basics, that’s not just inadequate, but that’s cruel. We need to ensure that people, especially those with complex needs, have enough to get by,” said Senger. She added that recent increases do not keep pace with inflation, and even if the province introduced a two per cent benefit increase, it falls far short of what is needed for financial stability.
She also raised concerns about program rules that reduce benefits when recipients form households, saying couples with disabilities can face clawbacks that discourage them from living together or getting married. Additional scrutiny of income and the phase-out of the Saskatchewan Rental Housing Supplement were also flagged as pressures that could reduce financial supports for some recipients.
However, the government said in a statement that the 2026–27 Ministry of Social Services budget totals $1.69 billion, a $71.9 million increase, or 4.4 per cent, over the previous year. As part of that, SAID core benefits will rise by two per cent, providing households with up to $40 more per month starting in May 2026. Officials noted this marks the fourth consecutive annual increase.
The government also highlighted long-term growth in benefits, stating that since SAID replaced the Saskatchewan Assistance Program in 2009–10, payments have increased by 70 per cent, outpacing a 45 per cent rise in the province’s consumer price index over the same period. On housing supports, the Saskatchewan Rental Housing Supplement is being phased out after years of limited intake.
The statement said clients are transitioning into other programs, such as the Saskatchewan Housing Benefit. For those already receiving both SAID and the supplement, payments will be consolidated into regular monthly benefits, with about 2,500 clients expected to transition by August 2026.
The province also rejected concerns about reduced support, stating that upcoming regulatory changes are designed to simplify the system by consolidating dozens of smaller benefit categories into five broader ones. According to the government, no clients will see reductions as a result, and some may receive more.
Officials further stressed that SAID does not have a fixed maximum benefit, with payments varying based on individual needs, including disability-related expenses and exceptional circumstances. Additional supports — such as full utility coverage and supplementary health benefits — are also built into the program.
Despite these assurances, the divide remains stark. While the government frames its changes as incremental improvements within a growing system, critics argue the program still falls short of meeting basic living costs — leaving many recipients caught between policy intent and day-to-day reality.
