The 90,000 young people under the age of 14 who are currently working should be able to keep their jobs, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) estimates.
• Also read: Young people up to the age of 14: seven times more accidents at work than five years ago
“We could crush 90,000 dreams!” lamented CFIB Vice President for Quebec, François Vincent, on Tuesday. The latter presided over MPs as part of the parliamentary commission on the draft law regulating child labour.
This legislation, piloted by Minister Jean Boulet, would set the minimum working age in Quebec at 14 effective immediately and young people under the age of 16 would not be allowed to work more than 17 hours a week during the school year from September 1.
The SME representative expresses his concern for the well-being and development of young people and asks the Legault government to allow teenagers under the age of 14 who are already in the labor market to keep their jobs.
The new law “will oblige employers to fire young people under the age of 14 thirty days after the sanction, young people who are already employed. This will equate to nearly 90,000 young people being made redundant. We understand that a new boundary has been set, but the latter are already busy, already have their routine, have their friends at work, have their pocket money,” argued François Vincent.
He adds that several teenagers have had a difficult time in the last few years of the pandemic. “These thousands of young people being shown the door are the same ones who have been unable to play their sport and see their friends for almost two years,” he said.
According to the CFIB vice president, Quebec must grant “time off” to these teenagers, who in many cases must stop working for a few months or even a few weeks until their 14th birthday. Some may find this situation difficult.
“[Imaginez] a young person whose party is in September and all his friends will be doing summer work, but he gets caught playing Nintendo in the basement,” illustrated Mr. Vincent.
family business
CFIB is also asking the Secretary of Labor to allow all owners and directors of family businesses, including those with more than 10 employees, to employ their children.
A proposal from the Conseil du patronat du Québec. The President, Karl Blackburn, points out that family businesses such as small grocery stores or farms often employ more than 10 people, but only at certain times of the year.
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