The buzz is starting to build on the RDSP (Registered Disability Savings Plan).

Here is another blog about the RDSP which has some good information: http://rdsp.wordpress.com/

Currently we (those of us who are looking to make use of the RDSP for our family member with a disability) are waiting for the Federal Government bureaucracy to complete writing the regulations for the RDSP.  The folks with PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy Networks) in Vancouver are telling us that their contacts in the federal government are saying the regulations should be finished probably toward the end of March, 2008.  There may be a process then of sending the regulations out for feedback from other organizations (such as, for example, financial institutions), gathering suggestions for improvement, and making revisions.  The final step will be approval by the federal cabinet.  Financial institutions will begin to offer RDSP products only after all of these regulations are complete.  This may take some time. 

In Alberta, now that the election is over, we can begin to organize and plan how best to approach our elected representatives about making changes to AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) so that RDSP savings and income will be exempted from asset calculations for AISH purposes.  The RDSP should be a way for families to ensure that their son or daughter with a disability has a good quality of life.  It should not be used as a replacement for the programs and services (such as AISH) that the province already provides for its citizens with disabilities. 

Keep watching for more information as it becomes available.