Human Resources committee  There are better treatments for people, so working is a possibility now. That's where I think we're really seeing the work in disability. It's the better treatments that allow people to work.

Human Resources committee  I'll just add very quickly that when we talk to people—thousands of people—they say that there is no one, that they're on their own, reinventing the wheel. Again, they don't necessarily define themselves as people with disabilities, but they don't know where to begin or who to go

Human Resources committee  I would say that health charities are an untapped resource; they are very willing and able to help.

Human Resources committee  It is complex. It takes more than three meetings. You raised the health care system. That's a big issue here. Doctors aren't prepared and trained to do this well. They struggle with this, and not all people can get to them, and not all episodic disabilities are an illness.

Human Resources committee  From what we hear, the most stressful thing for workers is around communicating—what do I say, when do I say it, who do I talk to?—within this privacy legislation. Recognizing that and working on tools to help people know how to talk about this will help workplaces. Often they

Human Resources committee  With episodic conditions, what we hear a lot is that obviously work is a protected activity. Usually what people do is give up everything in their personal life to protect work, so that by the time they have a flare-up or a crisis, that's it—they have to go. One of the issues a

Human Resources committee  I think this would be something to really work on, so that you don't lose your place in line and there's a recognition that you don't have to start all over again if you go back to work and it doesn't work out.

Human Resources committee  Perhaps I could, very quicky. I think the entire term “episodic”, which is a very high-literacy term, is great for us. We're all on the same page. However, putting that in a research document to try to ask people if it is them or not becomes an issue. Even the word “disability”

Human Resources committee  I'm going to go first. Emile and I will share our time. As mentioned, we're senior scientists at the Institute for Work and Health, which is a not-for-profit independent research organization. I'm also a professor at the University of Toronto, where I've been conducting researc