Finance committee  Thank you so much. Yes, and that's why in 2003 we set up the Episodic Disabilities Network, because we saw that this was an issue that spanned across different types of disability. Employment and income support were the two main issues and challenges facing people living with episodic disabilities.

Finance committee  People living with episodic disabilities face a complex and bewildering array of income support programs. I'd like to emphasize that government, private, and quasi-government bodies spent an estimated $28 billion in 2008-09 in direct income support benefits to individuals with disabilities, without any comprehensive oversight respecting what the programs do as a whole or purport to achieve for Canadians with disabilities.

Finance committee  Dear members of the Standing Committee on Finance, thank you for inviting the Episodic Disabilities Network to present today. My name is Martine Mangion, and I'm from the Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation. I'm joined by Lynn Moore from the Arthritis Society. The Episodic Disabilities Network brings together a wide range of key stakeholders from across Canada who have a shared interest in episodic disabilities.