However, recently the federal government passed legislation which permits provincial governments to allow for a period of residence requirement, unless the person is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, has a temporary resident permit, or is a “protected person” under the IRPA.342 At the time of writing, no province has yet implemented a residency requirement on foreign nationals in order to be eligible for welfare and disability assistance. b. Alberta Legal Framework Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan In Alberta, stateless persons are not specifically eligible to register for the taxpayer funded Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (“AHCIP”). In order to be eligible for the public healthcare coverage, the Alberta Health Care Insurance Act requires the person to be a “resident” of Alberta and committed to being physically present in Alberta for at least 183 days in a 12-month period.343 A “resident” or “resident of Alberta” is a person lawfully entitled to be or to remain in Canada, who makes the person’s home and is ordinarily present in Alberta and any other person deemed by the regulations to be a resident, but does not include a tourist, transient or visitor to Alberta.344 Persons can also be “deemed resident” of Alberta for the purposes of obtaining AHCIP benefits. This includes persons whose ordinary place of residence is outside Canada, have been lawfully admitted to Canada, have established residence in Alberta, intend to remain in Alberta for 12 or more consecutive months and are in Alberta under a work assignment, contract or arrangement or are a person who is in full-time attendance as a student at an accredited educational institute in Alberta.345 Those lawfully admitted to Canada for work or study will require a valid work or study permit.346 However, work permits must be for a minimum of 6 months and the Alberta Health website notes that not all Alberta work, study, or visitor permits qualify the permit holder for health care insurance coverage in Alberta.347 In order to register for healthcare coverage under the AHCIP, the person will also have to provide supporting documentation concerning their status and identity. Therefore, Alberta Health recommends that those who are physically present in Canada, but not eligible for AHCIP coverage, should obtain private health insurance.348 Alberta Welfare & Disability Assistance In cases where an individual is unable to meet their basic needs due to low-income and Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, RSC 1985, c F-8, at s. 25.1, available at: http://canlii.ca/t/52d91 (accessed 10 April 2015). 343 Alberta Health Care Insurance Act, RSA 2000, c A-20, at s. 4(1), available at: http://canlii.ca/t/527k7 [Alberta Health Care Insurance Act]; and Alberta Health, “Are you eligible for AHCIP? Registration requirements” (2015), available at: http://www.health.alberta.ca/AHCIP/registration-requirements.html [Eligibility for AHCIP] 344 Alberta Health Care Insurance Act, ibid., at s. 1(x). 345 Alberta Health Care Insurance Regulation, Alta Reg 76/2006, at s. 5, available at: http://canlii.ca/t/51x4j. 346 Alberta Health “Temporary residents and AHCIP” (2015), available at: http://www.health.alberta.ca/AHCIP/temporary-residents.html [Temporary residents and AHCIP] 347 Ibid. 348 Ibid. 342 73 73