In the fall of 2008, the CAUT Executive appointed a task force to examine the issue of governance in Canadian universities. ... The Task Force's starting point is the fundamental principle of post-secondary education in Canada and internationally, namely, that academic staff must play a decisive role in making educational decisions and setting educational policy if post-secondary institutions are to fulfill their purposes. ... Our task force has concluded we must finally recognize that university senates have not proven to reliable and consistent vehicles through which academic staff can ensure their proper role in the academic governance of their institutions. We believe that academic staff associations must turn to collective bargaining to ensure their position in academic decision making as part of their terms and conditions of employment.