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CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Grande Prairie disability advocates frustrated with province
Keith Moore, Inclusion Grande Prairie president, stops for a photo next to the empty reserved chairs for local MLAs during the disability town hall at the Pomeroy Hotel in Grande Prairie, Alta. on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Photo by Jesse Boily) Inclusion Grande Prairie held a town hall on Saturday to hear concerns regarding changes to the province's funding for people with disabilities. The two chairs reserved for local MLAs remained empty. 'It's so important to have a loud voice when speaking with this government because they have a tendency to ignore most of us,' said Keith Moore, Inclusion Grande Prairie president. Underfunding for disability programs, access to funds, upcoming AISH changes with the new Alberta Disability Assistance Program, and the province 'clawing back' the federal Canada Disability Benefit from individuals were among issues raised at the public event. The province is introducing the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) expected to begin in July next year, but locals say there is not enough information for those who will be able to use it. 'We don't know what that new support level would be because there's just no information, and we have asked repeatedly,' said Moore. 'The trends with this government seem to be, let's just cut and cut and cut, people who are more vulnerable in our society are the ones that are targeted.' The province says ADAP will allow people with disabilities to pursue jobs while receiving the financial, medical, and personal support they need. It says ADAP will work alongside the current Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program. 'ADAP is going to be a lower monthly support but allow people to earn more income without it being deducted off their support,' said Moore. Currently, those on AISH have deductions from their monthly living allowance if they have income. Moore said currently AISH clients receive about $1,900 per month for food, rent and utilities. He noted the poverty line is about $2,400 a month in Edmonton. The Canada Disability Benefit (CBD) which could provide up to $200 a month was expected to help those with disabilities have more access to funds, but in Alberta CBD may add more barriers. Inclusion Alberta said in a media release that the province is requiring people on AISH to apply for the CBD but will then reduce their AISH payment by the received CBD amount. It says no other province is doing this. 'The CDB is meant to be a top-up, not a replacement for provincial disability income support,' said Trish Bowman, Inclusion Alberta CEO. 'Taking away a benefit that was intended to help reduce poverty for adults with disabilities is beyond comprehension.' About 77,000 Albertans are accessing AISH. The CBD has a $250 application fee, and approved clients need to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit that requires a medical assessment that may also come with a cost. 'It doesn't make sense,' shouted a person from the crowd at the town hall. Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) and Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) funding is also underfunded, says Moore. He cited the latest publicly available annual report from the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities (2022-23). 'The budget for 2025 did add some money in, but it didn't even keep up with inflation or the population growth,' he said. 'Every year, we're falling further and further behind, and that is basically what the advocates report for 2022 says — insufficient funds.' People at the town hall voiced their frustrations with a system some called 'dehumanizing.' Moore says he sent invites to Grande Prairie MLA Nolan Dyck and Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA Ron Wiebe. 'We're going to present everything that was brought forward by families,' said Moore, 'we're going to get folks to write out their stories and everything and will go to the MLAs and again, requesting them specifically to respond to us.' 'We expect them to do their job as allies represent us; they were not elected to represent Premier Smith or the caucus,' said Moore. Moore says contact with the local MLAs has been difficult. 'They're not very accommodating for people who want to meet with them,' he said, noting the MLA offices indicated that they limit meetings to a maximum of 30 minutes, won't meet after 7 p.m. and won't meet with more than six people at a time. Giving each person five minutes isn't long enough to illustrate how funding is affecting a person, he said. Moore, who served on the board of the Inclusion Alberta until last month, said there was no consultation done regarding AISH or the upcoming changes with ADAP. He said he wanted to see Inclusion Alberta included in the changes to legislation, noting the organization represents families across Alberta and that Inclusion Grande Prairie represents many people in northwestern Alberta from Edson to LaCrete. He said it's not uncommon for the province to include stakeholders before making changes to legislation noting oil and gas companies were included in legislative changes to abandoned wellsites. Family Resource Centre closure In March, the Family Resource Centre in Grande Prairie was closed after provincial funding cuts. 'When we lost the Family Resource Centre, one of the responses from the province was, we do not fund advocacy we fund supports,' said Moore. 'We helped over 200 families, during the time it was operational, find a way around the community, connect them with supporting organizations within the community, help guide them through inclusive education.' He said that parents don't know how to navigate the system. The centre helped them navigate funding, ensuring their children received proper education and aid and parents got the education they needed. 'The interesting thing is that the (Persons with Developmental Disabilities) PDD office in Grande Prairie often referred people to us,' he said, 'that's basically because the PDD office is understaffed; they're maybe 50 per cent of what they were five years ago, in numbers.' Funding to the Family Resource Centre was cut from about $120,000 a year to $64,000, said Moore. He said the province has also stipulated the centre would need to provide courses that follow 'provincial scripts' every month, that would include provincial audits for compliance. Moore said after some conversations, the province indicated it is still funding the Office of the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities. The website stated that the office would visit communities and talk to organizations. 'I invited them to come out to Grande Prairie to talk with (Inclusion Grande Prairie), also the Autism Society - because they're in the same boat we are - and two weeks later, I got a phone call and the lady said they were unable to come out because they didn't know what their budget was and couldn't travel.' Moore then asked if they could accommodate a Zoom meeting and was told it would need to be before 7 p.m. Town & Country News reached out to the Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services but did not receive a response before press time. By Jesse Boily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Town & Country News
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Grande Prairie disability advocates frustrated with province
Inclusion Grande Prairie held a town hall on Saturday to hear concerns regarding changes to the province's funding for people with disabilities. The two chairs reserved for local MLAs remained empty. 'It's so important to have a loud voice when speaking with this government because they have a tendency to ignore most of us,' said Keith Moore, Inclusion Grande Prairie president. Underfunding for disability programs, access to funds, upcoming AISH changes with the new Alberta Disability Assistance Program, and the province 'clawing back' the federal Canada Disability Benefit from individuals were among issues raised at the public event. The province is introducing the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) expected to begin in July next year, but locals say there is not enough information for those who will be able to use it. 'We don't know what that new support level would be because there's just no information, and we have asked repeatedly,' said Moore. 'The trends with this government seem to be, let's just cut and cut and cut, people who are more vulnerable in our society are the ones that are targeted.' The province says ADAP will allow people with disabilities to pursue jobs while receiving the financial, medical, and personal support they need. It says ADAP will work alongside the current Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program. 'ADAP is going to be a lower monthly support but allow people to earn more income without it being deducted off their support,' said Moore. Currently, those on AISH have deductions from their monthly living allowance if they have income. Moore said currently AISH clients receive about $1,900 per month for food, rent and utilities. He noted the poverty line is about $2,400 a month in Edmonton. The Canada Disability Benefit (CBD) which could provide up to $200 a month was expected to help those with disabilities have more access to funds, but in Alberta CBD may add more barriers. Inclusion Alberta said in a media release that the province is requiring people on AISH to apply for the CBD but will then reduce their AISH payment by the received CBD amount. It says no other province is doing this. 'The CDB is meant to be a top-up, not a replacement for provincial disability income support,' said Trish Bowman, Inclusion Alberta CEO. 'Taking away a benefit that was intended to help reduce poverty for adults with disabilities is beyond comprehension.' About 77,000 Albertans are accessing AISH. The CBD has a $250 application fee, and approved clients need to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit that requires a medical assessment that may also come with a cost. 'It doesn't make sense,' shouted a person from the crowd at the town hall. Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) and Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) funding is also underfunded, says Moore. He cited the latest publicly available annual report from the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities (2022-23). 'The budget for 2025 did add some money in, but it didn't even keep up with inflation or the population growth,' he said. 'Every year, we're falling further and further behind, and that is basically what the advocates report for 2022 says — insufficient funds.' People at the town hall voiced their frustrations with a system some called 'dehumanizing.' Moore says he sent invites to Grande Prairie MLA Nolan Dyck and Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA Ron Wiebe. 'We're going to present everything that was brought forward by families,' said Moore, 'we're going to get folks to write out their stories and everything and will go to the MLAs and again, requesting them specifically to respond to us.' 'We expect them to do their job as allies represent us; they were not elected to represent Premier Smith or the caucus,' said Moore. Moore says contact with the local MLAs has been difficult. 'They're not very accommodating for people who want to meet with them,' he said, noting the MLA offices indicated that they limit meetings to a maximum of 30 minutes, won't meet after 7 p.m. and won't meet with more than six people at a time. Giving each person five minutes isn't long enough to illustrate how funding is affecting a person, he said. Moore, who served on the board of the Inclusion Alberta until last month, said there was no consultation done regarding AISH or the upcoming changes with ADAP. He said he wanted to see Inclusion Alberta included in the changes to legislation, noting the organization represents families across Alberta and that Inclusion Grande Prairie represents many people in northwestern Alberta from Edson to LaCrete. He said it's not uncommon for the province to include stakeholders before making changes to legislation noting oil and gas companies were included in legislative changes to abandoned wellsites. In March, the Family Resource Centre in Grande Prairie was closed after provincial funding cuts. 'When we lost the Family Resource Centre, one of the responses from the province was, we do not fund advocacy we fund supports,' said Moore. 'We helped over 200 families, during the time it was operational, find a way around the community, connect them with supporting organizations within the community, help guide them through inclusive education.' He said that parents don't know how to navigate the system. The centre helped them navigate funding, ensuring their children received proper education and aid and parents got the education they needed. 'The interesting thing is that the (Persons with Developmental Disabilities) PDD office in Grande Prairie often referred people to us,' he said, 'that's basically because the PDD office is understaffed; they're maybe 50 per cent of what they were five years ago, in numbers.' Funding to the Family Resource Centre was cut from about $120,000 a year to $64,000, said Moore. He said the province has also stipulated the centre would need to provide courses that follow 'provincial scripts' every month, that would include provincial audits for compliance. Moore said after some conversations, the province indicated it is still funding the Office of the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities. The website stated that the office would visit communities and talk to organizations. 'I invited them to come out to Grande Prairie to talk with (Inclusion Grande Prairie), also the Autism Society - because they're in the same boat we are - and two weeks later, I got a phone call and the lady said they were unable to come out because they didn't know what their budget was and couldn't travel.' Moore then asked if they could accommodate a Zoom meeting and was told it would need to be before 7 p.m. Town & Country News reached out to the Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services but did not receive a response before press time.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Adaptimmune Therapeutics PLC (ADAP) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Tecelra Launch ...
Revenue Guidance: Full-year Tecelra sales projected between $35 million and $45 million. Net Sales for Q1 2025: $4 million from Tecelra treatments. Tecelra Treatments Invoiced: 14 treatments in 2025 to date, with 6 in Q1. Authorized Treatment Centers: 28 centers currently accepting referrals, with a target of approximately 30 by the end of 2025. Manufacturing Success Rate: 100% success from the US Tecelra manufacturing center. Average Turnaround Time: 27 days from apheresis to release, beating the target of 30 days. Peak Sales Projection: $400 million from combined Tecelra and Lete-cel sarcoma franchise. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with ADAP. Release Date: May 13, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Adaptimmune Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:ADAP) reported strong momentum with the launch of Tecelra, achieving $4 million in net sales for Q1 2025. The company has successfully apheresed 21 patients in 2025, with 13 in Q1 and 8 in early Q2, supporting their revenue guidance of $35 million to $45 million for the year. Adaptimmune has established 28 authorized treatment centers (ATCs) for Tecelra, with plans to reach 30 by the end of 2025, a year ahead of schedule. The manufacturing success rate for Tecelra has been 100%, with no capacity issues and an average turnaround time of 27 days, beating the target of 30 days. There have been no patient denials for Tecelra, indicating effective patient access and a positive payer environment. Adaptimmune Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:ADAP) has a going concern warning, indicating less than 12 months of cash runway, which raises concerns about financial sustainability. The company has not provided detailed cash runway guidance due to various impacting factors, including the success of Tecelra's launch and ongoing cost reduction actions. The cost of goods sold (COGS) is expected to be higher in the initial quarters, affecting margins, although they are projected to normalize over time. There is uncertainty regarding the impact of potential regulatory changes on the business, although the company has not seen any negative indications from the FDA. The company is still exploring strategic options with Cowen, which could imply potential changes or uncertainties in their strategic direction. Q: Can you clarify if the apheresed patients in Q1 have already been treated and invoiced? A: Cintia Piccina, Chief Commercial Officer, explained that of the 21 apheresed patients year-to-date, at least six have been invoiced, with the majority expected to be invoiced in the coming months. Q: Should we expect an acceleration in the number of apheresed patients in Q2? A: Adrian Rawcliffe, CEO, stated that while they are comfortable with the sales guidance of $35 million to $45 million for 2025, they are not providing detailed quarterly breakdowns of apheresis numbers. Q: How has the pace of patient referrals and screening been trending, and do you expect incremental growth? A: Cintia Piccina noted that they expect quarter-over-quarter growth without specific seasonality, driven by increased awareness and the onboarding of more Authorized Treatment Centers (ATCs). Q: What are the key learnings from the early launch of Tecelra? A: Cintia Piccina highlighted the faster-than-expected onboarding of treatment centers and the 100% manufacturing success rate as positive surprises, with patient onboarding and biomarker testing proceeding smoothly. Q: How is the company managing its cash position and what are the implications of the recent debt paydown? A: Gavin Wood, CFO, explained that the debt paydown was part of managing the balance sheet and did not impact cash runway. The company has less than 12 months of cash, with ongoing strategic options being explored. Q: What gives you confidence in providing revenue guidance for the year? A: Adrian Rawcliffe mentioned the visibility into the patient funnel, successful manufacturing, and the increasing number of ATCs as factors supporting the $35 million to $45 million revenue guidance. Q: What is the drop-off rate for patients from apheresis to infusion? A: Adrian Rawcliffe confirmed that so far, 100% of apheresed patients have received infusions. Q: Are there any planned manufacturing maintenance activities this year? A: John Lunger, Chief Patient Supply Officer, stated that maintenance is conducted on a rolling basis without impacting capacity, and no significant shutdowns are planned for the year. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Calgary Herald
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Albertans protest federal disability benefit clawback and call for accessibility legislation
Article content Dozens of Albertans came out to the legislature on Tuesday protesting clawbacks for the federal disability benefit and called on the province to put forward accessibility legislation. Article content Article content Starting in June Albertans with disabilities can begin applying for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) with the first payment of up to $200 expected in July. But while the province says the Assisted Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) payments will remain unchanged, advocates say the province will clawback the CDB benefit, garnering protests from those in the community. Article content Article content Zachary Weeks, a disability advocate and rally organizer, said many people living on AISH are afraid to speak out in fear their benefits may be cut. Sitting in the gallery of the legislature on Tuesday, he said it was great to see many questions from the Alberta NDP directed to the UCP government on disability. Article content 'I don't think anyone wants to live on AISH because it's a paltry amount, given the economy we're in and the amount of expenses for groceries and rent on top of that, it is a very rigorous process to get accepted onto AISH.' Article content Article content Article content Starting July 2026, the province will implement the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP), intended to ensure Albertans with disabilities are not negatively impacted from having a job, according to the province. The program will not be replacing AISH. Article content Article content Weeks said the province needs to have proper consultation with the community before moving forward with the program and said individuals should be able to choose between AISH and ADAP. Article content Seniors, Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon defended the province's position and said the maximum monthly AISH payments plus $400 in health benefits and a tax reduction is 'above the poverty line.' Article content 'We have regulations that have been in place under this government, the NDP government, the PC government, to calculate individual's income — income that you receive from the federal government, including things like Canadian Pension Plan are part of the calculation of income,' Nixon said.
New Indian Express
01-05-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
Dope of shame for India yet again
CHENNAI: WHEN it comes to doping, India will always be in front. The latest figures could be the highest positive doping cases after the 225 cases in 2019. What is even more intriguing is that the positive cases are in less than a year. According to the latest Annual Report of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports published on their website, 186 returned Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF) in the April 2023-January 2024 (about 10 months) period. The number of samples increased to 4891, including 544 blood samples. Going by percentage, this is a high 3.80. In 2022, India had topped the world in the percentage of doping positives against the number of samples tested. The figures were based on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) testing figures published last year in April. According to the WADA report, NADA found 125 positives, about 3.2 percent of the total number of samples collected and was highest among countries that had tested more than 2000 samples. As far as testing samples is concerned, 4891 could be the highest in the country. 'During the period of April 2023 – January 2024, a total of 4891 dope samples including 544 blood samples were collected during sports championship and training camps,' said the report. At 43, athletics has seen a spurt of positive cases including Asian Games and championship medallists. Weightlifting had 33 AAFs, followed by powerlifting with 27 positive cases. Wrestling (10) and boxing (9) were next. Pencak-Silat is a sport that has returned 2 positive cases. In all, there were positive cases in 24 sporting disciplines. Cricket figures among the top sport to have opted for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) with seven cricketers opting for this provision. The report said, 'TUE may give that athlete the authorization to use that substance or method while competing without invoking an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV).' Surprisingly, there have been only two TUE requests in athletics. Kabaddi saw four TUE requests but they were all granted. The report said that Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) had heard 92 Anti-Doping Rule Violation cases while the Anti Doping Appeal Panel (ADAP) heard 35 cases. The ADDP issued 56 orders while ADAP 21. 'The ADRV cases/Appeals as per following details have been heard/disposed by ADDP/ADAP during the period of April – December 2023,' said the report. The report also pointed out that the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) has increased the capacity from 4000 to 6000.
