As I said, MS and episodic disabilities bring a life of uncertainty. It's uncertainty knowing about work, family and your path forward. In a life of uncertainty, we need predictable supports. We need predictable supports, and income in particular. Income is so fundamental to so much of life—housing, food, treatment, wellness. We hear from so many people who need rehabilitation supports to be able to continue. As a disease like MS progresses over time, sufferers need supports in order to remain as well as possible for as long as possible.
We heard from a witness in the committee study who said she doesn't fear losing her ability to walk; she fears losing her ability to work and contribute financially to her life. She fears poverty. That's a really unfortunate situation. As we've heard from everybody, it's a very complex system. The income and disability supports system is very complex. We really need to look at that from multiple perspectives over the life course.
What we heard from people was, “What if I can't work at this point in time? Perhaps if I can be supported, I can continue my attachment to the workforce.” People want to work, but they struggle to work. We need to support them for as long as possible. I think income supports like the Canada disability benefit are one solution. There are multiple solutions. There are multiple recommendations in the HUMA report on episodic disabilities that are helpful to many, including people with mental health conditions.