This episode features disability advocate Zachary Weeks, who was born with cerebral palsy in Edmonton and has long worked as a spokesperson on accessibility and social justice issues, consulting on major public developments and challenging ableism and discrimination. Zachary describes his unexpected path into advocacy, shifting from training as a funeral director to volunteering with a nonprofit after facing exclusion from the funeral industry, where his potential as an advocate was recognized. The conversation centers on Alberta’s lack of provincial accessibility legislation—making it one of only two provinces without such a law—and the development of a comprehensive Accessibility Act led by MLA Marie Renaud in collaboration with people with disabilities, lawyers, nonprofits, and business groups, including the Alberta Chambers of Commerce. He explains that the proposed act aimed to embed accessibility across employment, housing, transportation, justice, healthcare, the built environment, and digital services, including accessible websites and government communications. Zach criticizes the UCP government for striking down the bill over objections to the definition of disability and concerns about “overreach” by a committee of people with lived experience, despite extensive consultations and cross-sector support.
The discussion then turns to income support reforms, contrasting the long-standing Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) with the new Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP). Weeks warns that thousands of recipients will be moved from AISH to ADAP under an assumption that many can work, despite the difficulty of qualifying for AISH and the reality that most recipients are unable to work. He highlights that ADAP will reduce monthly income from $1,940 to $1,740 after a temporary $200 transition top-up and will lower the amount people can earn before clawbacks from about $1,100 under AISH to $700, after an initial proposal as low as $300–$350. Zack argues that these changes, combined with clawbacks of the $200 federal Canada Disability Benefit, effectively balance the provincial budget on the backs of people with disabilities and undermine their ability to secure and maintain employment, especially in the absence of robust accessibility measures.
The conversation also addresses broader systemic issues, including inadequate consultation with the disability community—where government “town halls” lacked even basic accessibility features like captioning—and a political climate that increasingly targets disabled people, seniors, and immigrants. Weeks and I connect these policy choices to early childhood cuts such as reduced Program Unit Funding (PUF) funding, framing them as part of a “race to the bottom” that harms current and future generations. We further explore the complexities of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), with Weeks emphasizing personal autonomy, the need for strong safeguards, and the ethical tension created when people facing chronic pain and poverty are simultaneously stripped of supports and confronted with rising costs and housing insecurity.
Throughout, Zachary stresses that everyone is “temporarily able-bodied” and that disability cuts across all identities, making accessibility and income security issues that should matter to all Albertans. He calls for cross-community solidarity—across faith groups, LGBTQ+ communities, Indigenous peoples, and others—and encourages listeners to share knowledge, build alliances, and support efforts to secure meaningful accessibility legislation in Alberta. You can find Zachary at ZacharyWeeks.ca, his social media links are all there!
Mark your calendar, Calgary!
Markham Hislop is coming to town on Friday, April 24th, JOIN US from 6 to 8 pm at the Montgomery Community Association. As explained in this preview episode on Energi.Media, he and I will have a dual podcast discussion about the energy transition and water restoration needs in Alberta. The event is LIVE on Eventbrite, please get your tickets. If you are a member of the Recall Nicolaides team, please reach out to me directly if you’d like to attend. You are wanted there and AB Resistance has provided me with a small token of their appreciation for all the work you did. I just met with a handful of Recall leads and the exhaustion is real. Please reach out to anyone you know who was heavily involved in recall efforts and give them an extra word of thanks, they deserve it.
Forever Canadian Updates
I had the privilege of meeting Thomas Lukaszuk in Calgary Tuesday afternoon. Thomas is planning to commit another spring and summer to the “Unity Bus” to raise awareness and to get-out-the-vote for the October 19, 2026 referendum on separation and other heinous objectives. He will be hitting every town and city across the province. Thomas explained it is not a coincidence that the separatist petition announced they have their numbers this week as it is expected the petition signature collecting will be stopped by the courts to rightly support Indigenous rights. Please go to Forever-Canadian.ca to join this vital phase two effort.
If you haven’t already, check out my conversation with him on Charlie Angus’s Meidas Canada titled: ALBERTANS FIGHT MAGA & DEFEND CANADA.
Water Not Coal
Become a canvasser with the WaterNotCoal campaign underway. The pace seems to have picked up again, perhaps in light of further legislative changes to both the recall and citizen petition initiatives. The Alberta Government created a two-year black out period around the election and are allowing the MLA or justice minister, respectively, the ability to appoint a scrutineer. Go to waternotcoal.ca to get involved. I am working on a couple WaterNotCoal conversations for The Gravity Well, stay tuned!
The Coalition for Responsible Energy (C4RE)
I have been working with a group called the coalition for responsible energy, you can find us by searching cleanupyourmess.ca. We have a few town halls planned in:
Provost on Wednesday, April 22, at the Provost Recreation and Cultural Center, doors open at 6 pm.
Airdrie on Wednesday, April 29th at Inspire Airdrie from 7-8:30 pm, and
Calgary at the Bowness Seniors’ Center on Saturday, May 9 from 2-3:30 pm.
Common Purpose, Collective Action
Public Interest Alberta: Common Purpose, Collective Action Conference in Edmonton, May 8-9. They want more Calgary people! I will be there presenting on a participatory democracy effort. Charlie Angus is a keynote speaker at it.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: May 29th Alberta Day of Action!
The goal is to have 1,000,000 Albertans on the street that day. This effort is being led by the Alberta Federation of Labour, please go to: Fight Back Now! - Alberta Federation of Labour, subscribe to spread the word and organize. It’s gonna be quite something! I have an interview planned with a representative at the Alberta Federation of Labour soon.
