Sure.
Thank you for the question.
When the student work placement program that I represent was created about eight or 10 years ago, the only mechanism we did for equity-deserving groups was that they got a higher amount of wage subsidy or an employer's support to do that. That mechanism hasn't changed for the last eight years. Neither has the definition of an equity-deserving group changed. There are some groups that we don't even measure, such as LGBTQ+, etc., as they were not covered in the original agreement. That agreement has only been extended as it is, identically, for the next eight years.
Through the work-integrated learning program and the student work placement program, I believe you have an ability to evolve not only the definition of what we think is an equity-deserving group but also what our expectations are for a successful work-integrated learning placement. Beyond the fact that, as we mentioned, all of our subsidies are paid subsidies as well, there is simply an incentive, not a requirement, to hire a certain proportion of equity-deserving students, such as Canadians with disabilities, the indigenous and newcomers. That condition could be added and better tracked to the program as it goes forward.
The thousands of employers who are already familiar with the program are expecting the program to evolve. They're actually surprised that it has not over the last eight or nine years, with the exception of scale. I think there's a great opportunity here to raise the expectations on the average employer in terms of the use of diversity and inclusion policies, mentorship programs, onboarding that includes cultural awareness, and buddy systems, so that not only students but also underprivileged equity-deserving groups get more attention.