Despite the new restrictions on child labor, youngsters as young as 12 and 13 can finally work on small farms to pick fruit or work in the fields.
• Also read: Child labor should not be encouraged!
Labor Minister Jean Boulet echoed the arguments put forward by the Union of Agricultural Producers and the opposition parties.
On Wednesday, he tabled an amendment to his bill that would ban employers from hiring young people under the age of 14.
Farms with fewer than 10 employees can therefore hire children as young as 12 or 13 to “do light manual labor to harvest fruit or vegetables, tend animals, or prepare or tend the soil”.
“It’s an extension of family life and this child needs adult supervision,” Minister Boulet said.
It should be noted that under legislation currently under consideration by the National Assembly, young Quebecers aged 14 to 16 cannot work more than 17 hours per week during the school year, with a maximum of 10 hours Monday through Friday. Measures that will come into force next September.
Babysitting, newspaper delivery, homework help, animation in a day camp or a sports club and work in a small family business were already among the exceptions provided for in the legal text.
Elsewhere
Currently, a young Quebecer under the age of 14 can work any number of hours with written parental consent, provided the hours are not at night and working hours are not disrupted. School.
In Ontario, the legal minimum age for employment varies by occupation, but is generally 14 or 15 years old.
In British Columbia it is 16, except for regulated “light work” and with parental permission.
In the United States, the minimum age is 14 and working hours are limited to under 16 years.
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