OTTAWA — Alberta Social Services Minister Jason Nixon is calling on Ottawa to scrap the standalone application form for the new Canada Disability Benefit .

Nixon said in a letter to federal counterpart Patty Hajdu that those receiving Alberta’s Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) and other provincial disability benefits should automatically receive the CDB.

“As social services are within provincial responsibility, I am … requesting that the federal government defer to Alberta’s provincial eligibility requirements to streamline access to federal disability supports,” wrote Nixon.

Nixon wrote in the letter that the federal application requirements, which could include paying out of pocket for a medical examination, present a “significant barrier” to access in Albert

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