Finance committee  It's one of the issues we're looking at, but part of the problem with an episodic disability is definitional. Part of the work that the Episodic Disabilities Network is about to undertake is to look at the definitions that are used for the various disability programs--as Martine alluded to, they're quite diverse--and figure how they can encapsulate the issue of episodic disability.

Finance committee  I would just like to comment on the fact that the key aspect of an episodic disability is that it often strikes in people's productive years but it is lifelong. So the more we can adapt policy to allow people to remain engaged in the workforce, even in a part-time way, the more we increase Canada's productivity.

Finance committee  Each of you almost surely has been touched by an episodic disability. An episodic disabling condition or disease is lifelong, but it differs from persistent or progressive disabling conditions. The period of disability in an episodic condition can vary in severity and duration. There may be advance notice of an episode, or it may come on quite unexpectedly.