By whose standards? Reregulating the Canadian labour market

Taking the breakdown of the standard employment relationship (SER), which h as been the lynchpin of tabour market regulation in Canada since the Second World War, and the feminization of employment as its starting points, this article examines policy options for reregulating the Canadian tabour marke t. It is divided into three parts. The first identifies the core challenge as developing a new norm of employment (based on a new gender contract) and new forms of tabour regulation that reduce, rather than heighten, polariza tion and contribute to, instead of undermining, social solidarity and produ ctivity. The second part proposes principles for reregulating the employmen t relationship that are attentive to this objective and addresses three key policy issues: the legal norm of employment, the basis for distributing en titlements and collective representation. The third part emphasizes the sig nificance of the gender contract for understanding the role and limitations of tabour law, legislation and policy and argues that gender equity must b e a fundamental principle in policy design. The article concludes by acknow ledging the political challenges that must be confronted before Canadian ta bour markets can be effectively regulated.