Ruling on supports program reserved

Alberta's Court of Appeal will rule on whether changes by the UCP government to a program that provides supports for young adults who were in government care as children can proceed, following a Thursday hearing.

More than 2,100 vulnerable young adults receive benefits through the Support and Financial Assistance Agreements program (SFAA), which provides financial help for rent, groceries, health benefits and other supports.

But the UCP government announced in November 2019 it would lower the maximum age of those who qualify for support to 22 from 24. Almost 500 young adults were to unexpectedly age out by April of this year as a result of that decision.

It prompted a constitutional challenge by a single mother, now 22, who is identified as A.C. in court documents.

The Court of Queen's Bench granted a temporary injunction in March, halting the changes until a court could determine whether the amendments were constitutional. The province appealed that injunction.

The Edmonton woman at the centre of the constitutional challenge has testified she suffered from alcohol and substance abuse and previously tried to take her own life. Emotional trauma led her to work in the sex trade because she was “desperate for money.”

At 19, A.C. sought to reclaim her life and become financially independent by obtaining a university education, she said in court documents. She entered the SFAA program and was told she'd receive benefits until she was 24.

With the help of a social worker provided through the program, A.C. set a goal of graduating from the Native Studies program at the University of Alberta. She's currently attending Norquest College and hopes to transfer.

But absent the financial help she expected to receive from the SFAA program until turning 24, A.C. said she fears having to return to sex work to afford basic needs.

“When she heard it, she just got so much anxiety, overwhelmed,” said Edmonton lawyer Avnish Nanda, who represents A.C.

He said A.C. recently obtained a driver's licence and is “on this great trajectory towards her ultimate aim, which is independent, healthy, sustainable adulthood.”

The province has argued it has no financial obligation to support those transitioning out of the state's care past the age of 22.

In its appeal, filed in April, the province argued Justice Tamara Friesen made errors on 22 grounds in her decision to grant an injunction.

On Thursday, a five-judge panel reserved its decision in the province's appeal.