Human Resources committee  To date, yes. In any discussions we've had, yes, there has been some concern. There is also the similar concern with private insurance, which is not the jurisdiction of the people in this room, but it is a similar issue. As they've raised the retirement age or taken away the reti

Human Resources committee  I'll be very brief. There is definitely need for more research in this area, but jobs that allow for a lot of flexibility, that allow people to perhaps work from home if they need to or if there is a shared pool of people so there can be people to fill in for other people, jobs

Human Resources committee  It would be interesting to try some demonstration projects. Since it's such a complex issue, you asked how we find out what works. Rather than starting with big things, can we start with small demonstration projects that explore different ways of working? Definitely it's a disinc

Human Resources committee  Yes. I would like to commend the government on both those programs. They are excellent. The portion of the opportunities fund that we have used...we don't provide direct service, but we know they've worked very well in assisting people to get into the workforce and to help find j

Human Resources committee  The issue of flexibility speaks to some of the challenges. It seems that the onus for making the accommodations ends up being either with the employer, with the employee, or with the government programs. What we're saying is that we would like to see changes within each of the st

Human Resources committee  We've been talking for a long time about the development of a framework for a national episodic disabilities strategy for Canada. This tends to be one of the ways, like the mental health strategy or other similar kinds of strategies, that can start to outline a framework for how

Human Resources committee  I would like to add that, anecdotally, it appears that more women than men are living with many of the illnesses that we have identified. We don't know that for sure; it's just anecdotal at this point. We definitely need more research.

Human Resources committee  Yes. I would like to add that in some conditions it varies, as Tammy mentioned, depending on the individual and where they're at in the continuum of their illness. Some illnesses become worse over time, and other illnesses stay fairly steady, with episodes of illness and wellness

Human Resources committee  On the question of the EI, the 75 units, if I understand your question correctly, it's not re-entering the workforce that's the issue. Somebody's currently working and they've been paying into EI and then they get sick. Their episodes of illness are unpredictable. Some people, be