AUTHORITY
Income Support, Training and Health Benefits Regulation, sections 50(4)(a)(ii), (4)(a)(iii), and (4)(b)(i)
ISTHB Regulation, Schedule 2 
Exemption of Disaster Relief Payments (Advanced Education) 
Full Time Learners:  Schedules 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Advanced Education)
Exemption of Disaster Relief Payments (Labour and Immigration)
Full Time Learners: Schedules 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Labour and Immigration)

INTENT

Certain types of income are fully exempt to ensure:

• learners get the benefit of specific federal and provincial financial supports available to other Canadians
• learners may have some resources they can use to purchase items that are not available through income support
• dependent children are encouraged to save for post-secondary and/or technical training.

POLICY

Exempt income is not used in the determination of eligibility, or level of financial support.

The following types of income are exempt:

• all employment earnings of a full-time learner
• payment received under Schedule A or B to the 1986–1990 Hepatitis C Settlement Agreement, but not including:
  • payment under section 4.02 of the Agreement for loss of income, or
  • payment under section 6.01 of the Agreement for loss of support resulting from the death of the infected person  
• a payment received for the pre-1986 and post 1990 Hepatitis C Settlement Agreement
  • There is no method of distinguishing loss of income and loss of support payments made in this agreement, therefore the entire payment is exempt.
• compensation received from the government of a province or territory of Canada for infection with the HIV virus through the blood supply
• money received as compensation for loss or damage to property of a member of the household if the money is used to repair or replace the property within a reasonable time as determined by the Learner Income Support Office (LISO)
• a refunded damage deposit
  • under a tenancy agreement, or
  • paid in respect of a utility or telephone  
• moving allowance provided by a landlord on termination of a tenancy agreement
• payment received by a member of the household pursuant to an order for support of a child who is not a member of the household 
• the Canada Child Benefit under the Income Tax Act (Canada)   
• the Universal Child Care Benefit received from the Government of Canada 
• the Alberta Child and Family Benefit received from the Government of Alberta
• the Alberta Child Benefit received from the Government of Alberta 
• the Canada Workers Benefit (formerly the Working Income Tax Benefit) received from the Government of Canada 
• Goods and Services Tax credit received from the Government of Canada 
• money received from the Government of Alberta to assist a person with a disability in purchasing services that will enable the person to live in the community 
• money received from a management body under the Alberta Housing Act for the payment of utilities other than electricity 
• money received for home repairs or renovations under a program of the Government of Alberta or Canada 
• payment, refund or credit directly or indirectly from the Government of Canada or Alberta that is designed to protect consumers from high energy costs 
• payment received from the Direct to Tenant Rent Supplement Program, 
• grant or loan to start a business (excluding any amount received as Income Support) that is received from a federal or provincial government department or agency or from a non-profit organization 
• loan from a financial institution, except for government loans to post-secondary students which are not exempt
• payment made under a Government of Alberta program for the maintenance costs of a person to whom a member of the household is providing care, or is responsible for providing care 
• payment of arrears of child support owed for a period of time that the individual was NOT on assistance, and paid to the individual through the Maintenance Enforcement Program  
• self-employment income earned while enrolled in, and resulting from, an approved self-employment training program 
• benefit paid under the Victims of Crime Act (excluding amounts received for lost income) 
• employment income or self-employment income earned by a dependent child who is attending school or during the summer break before attending school 
• payment under an agreement between a First Nation and Her Majesty in Right of Canada with respect to a Specific Claim (Surrender), only as determined by the Minister
• a payment of a non-recurring nature received from a First Nation that is paid equally to each member on the First Nation band list as follows:
  • an Agricultural Benefit Settlement Agreement payment
  • a Piikani Nation Grazing Leases Settlement payment
  • a Lubicon Lake Band No. 453 Treaty 8 Lands and Benefits Claim Settlement Agreement payment
  • a Blood Tribe Mismanagement of Assets Settlement payment
  • A Missanabie Cree First Nation Treaty Land Settlement payment
  • Enoch Cree Nation Yekau Lake Bombing Range Settlement Agreement
  • The Peepeekisis Specific Land Claim Settlement Agreement (File Hills Colony Specific Claim)
  • The Mosquito Grizzly Bear Head Lean Man First Nation Specific Land Claim Settlement Agreement
• certain payments made by the Government of Canada or Government of Alberta
• Common Experience Payments (CEPs) and Independent Assessment Process Payments (IAPs) under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement are 100% exempt to the extent that they do not replace lost income, support or medical care that was provided by the Income Support program 
• Roth/Fifield Class Action Settlement Agreement from the Government of Alberta 
• a Slave Lake Wildfire Payment or payment under the Emergency Accommodation Program to persons subject to the mandatory evacuation order issued by the Alberta Emergency Management Agency in May 2011  
• Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) payments
• a payment made by the Government of Canada or Alberta for part-time training costs as follows:
  • Alberta Works Skills Investment Bursary (Government of Alberta)
• a payment made by the Government of Canada or Alberta for Disability Related Employment supports and/or services to assist Albertans with disabilities to access Government of Alberta funded full or part-time training programs and/or to obtain employment.
• compensation issued by the Government of Alberta pursuant to a Disaster Recovery Program for the June 2013 floods
• payments issued by charitable organizations for the June 2013 floods
• compensation issued by the Government of Alberta pursuant to a Disaster Recovery Program for the April 2020 floods.
• compensation issued by the Government of Alberta for damage or loss caused by a disaster as determined by the Government of Alberta 
• payments issued by a charitable organization for a disaster as determined by the Government of Alberta
• a payment received from Tsuut'ina First Nation as a result of the Final Calgary Ring-Road Agreement dated November 27, 2013 between the Tsuut'ina Nation and Her Majesty the Queen in right of Alberta and that is paid equally to each member on the Tsuut'ina First Nation band list
• Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB) payments made by the Government of Canada.
• Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) payments made by the Government of Canada.
• the Final Settlement Agreement for the Class Action of Raymond Michael Toth v. Her Majesty the Queen;
• the Final Settlement Agreement for the Class Action of Ross, Roy and Satalic v. Her Majesty the Queen (also known as the LGBT Purge Settlement Agreement);
• the Final Settlement Agreement for the Class Action of Garry Leslie Mclean, Roger Augustine, Claudette Commanda, Angela Elizabeth Simone Sampson, Margaret Anne Swan And Mariette Buckshot v. Her Majesty the Queen (also known as Federal Indian Day School Settlement);
• the Sixties Scoop Settlement Agreement
• the COVID-19 Federal Disability Payment
• payments issued by the Government of Alberta under the Alberta Heroes' Fund
• the COVID-19 Self-Isolation payments from the Government of Alberta
• the Critical Worker Benefit from the Government of Alberta
• the Memorial Grant Program for First Responders

PROCEDURE

Individuals are required to include income from the above sources on their Learner Income Support Application (Full-Time Study).

APPROVAL

Learner Benefit Coordinator, Learner Income Support Office