“I want to reassure Albertans with developmental disabilities and their families that they are and will remain a high priority for me and this government. I am saddened that some are making these individuals and others across the province worried about possible changes to the supports provided by the PDD program.

The health and safety of those supported by the PDD program has remained paramount—even while we looked for savings. It is important to find savings and efficiencies where we can, including to help sustain programs like PDD over the longer term, but it won’t be done at the cost of health and safety.

The PDD Community Boards will continue to work with agencies to find savings where feasible. The health and safety of individuals will not be put at risk. If a family feels this is the case, I strongly encourage them to contact their local PDD region to find a solution.

I also want to alleviate fears by stressing the size of this government’s commitment to adults with developmental disabilities. Even with in-year savings, the budget for the PDD program for this year is almost $600 million, an increase of more than $20 million over the previous year. This works out to more than $60,000 on average for each of the 9,200 Albertans supported by the program.

My government colleagues and I remain committed to supporting these Albertans going forward.”