You're raising various points. You touched on one very delicate matter, the idea of a single securities commission for all of Canada. That's a point of view that we don't share at CSN and, in my view, that a vast majority of stakeholders in Quebec don't share.
There's definitely a way to discuss the matter, to try to cooperate in order to launch a movement. I'm seeking a fairly fundamental reform of pension legislation, but I don't believe it's simpler to design it at a single level of government. I think we have every interest in preserving the provinces' jurisdiction in this regard. However, I mentioned the fact that, in 1985, I believe, the federal government amended its legislation on pension funds, which subsequently allowed some interesting developments in various provinces, in Quebec in particular.
I don't think it's a matter of level of government, but of political will and of knowing how to take the time to stand back and really rethink matters in much greater depth. Another speaker earlier emphasized that we were talking a lot about pensions because we were in a crisis. I indeed think that may be a more current topic in a period of crisis.
However, in seeking a more fundamental reform of pension plans, I would say that, over the past 10 years, we had difficulties when were in a period of economic prosperity. For example, we saw the decline of the defined benefit pension plans, which offer the best security for workers. We saw them decline in a period of prosperity. Quite apart from current economic circumstances, we increasingly have an industrial structure involving small work places where people have to learn to deal with that reality.
I'll give you an example of success in Quebec where we've managed to negotiate an arrangement in the early childhood centres, which have 10 to 15 employees, and where there has never been a way to establish an adequate pension plan. So we developed a sectoral approach as a result of which, today, these people have protection that they could never have anticipated in other circumstances. That's why I think that, in a desire to reform pensions, we must look at new issues and approaches.