The Saskatchewan government is consolidating 30 specialized benefits under the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) program into five broader categories, a move it says will simplify the system and speed up payments.

Under the changes, some recipients will receive flat-rate payments instead of being reimbursed for actual costs.

Social Services Minister Terry Jenson said the current structure has been criticized as confusing and overly complex.

“We’ve been hearing from not only the recipients of SAID, but community-based organizations that help with applications — and even some within the ministry that it’s pretty cumbersome,” Jenson said. “There are a lot of categories, and it’s a little on the confusing side.”

The affected benefits include items such as incontinence supplies, maternity clothing and costs associated with service animals.

Jenson said flat-rate benefits will reduce paperwork and allow payments to be issued more quickly.

“With the addition of flat-rate benefits in some cases, individuals don’t necessarily have to provide receipts every month, so it actually gets their payments out quicker,” he said. “The process and time is faster.”

The NDP Opposition argues the changes amount to a reduction in support for people with disabilities.

“When times get tough, this is not who we are in Saskatchewan,” NDP Leader Carla Beck said. “We don’t punch down on the most vulnerable people.”

Advocacy groups have also raised concerns, including the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry.

“If the SAID basic rates were sufficient to meet actual basic needs, it would be one thing, but when they fall thousands of dollars a year below that, you really need specific special-needs provisions,” said Peter Gilmer with the organization

The government maintains the changes will ensure SAID recipients receive the benefits they are entitled to in the simplest and fastest way possible, while critics argue the program’s base benefit levels are already inadequate.