Thank you for your question, Ms. Sansoucy.
First, temporary work is a much broader concept than work provided by a temporary employment agency. Until 2005, Statistics Canada kept separate statistics. In 2010, the distinction between temporary employment and employment provided through an agency was lost. This is a fundamental distinction that must be kept, because if we want to understand what is happening, we must be able to monitor what is happening.
Both in Quebec and Ontario, occupational health studies have been conducted on the exposure of workers. In Quebec, a study was conducted by Dr. Massé, who was then Montreal's director of public health. First, that study found that the vast majority of agency workers were immigrants, which was also noted by the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail. Second, in terms of risks and compensated work, that is injuries that can result in compensation, those workers are disproportionately exposed, according to statistics.
Among the solutions, the Government of Quebec amended the legislation in 2018 to require temporary employment agencies to have a permit. Most authorities do not even require a permit. Some provinces do, but I don't know what the federal situation is. I think it's regulated on the provincial side. However, minimum protection criteria must be required if the federal government uses an agency employee. This is to ensure that we are not dealing with an unscrupulous agency, a fly-by-night company—which is a problem—or to numbered companies that disappear and are reborn two days later. In particular, the temporary employment agency sector must be regulated.
As for the question of whether temporary contracts should be prohibited, I agree with the lady who mentioned that we could not ask to terminate temporary work. It was done in France and it is not effective.
Temporary employment agencies are a whole different story. This sector really needs to be regulated to ensure that clients, including the federal government, are accountable, as are the temporary employment agencies.
That's one part of the answer.