Thank you for the question.
It's a complicated, complex issue that I think is going to require greater co-operation between the federal government and the provinces. Obviously, labour issues and labour law are a provincial jurisdiction, and the teaching component of education is a provincial jurisdiction.
Looking at the root causes of the increase in casualization of employment is particularly important. As I said earlier, this is a largely untapped resource. We have an enormous number of people who are highly qualified and trained to be researchers but who can't get a job that recognizes their research ability. I think this is like leaving a treasure buried in the ground. We simply can't afford to do that.
In other jurisdictions, the European Union has developed a fixed-term directive on contract work that has been applied in the university, college and post-secondary sector. That's been effective in providing some security for the long-term research that's often required.
Ultimately it's a funding issue too. One reason we've seen a growth in precarity is that institutions are squeezed in terms of overall funding. I think there's potential for renewed federal partnership with the provinces in providing adequate funding for institutions.