Bill 19, which sets the minimum working age in Quebec at 14, is provoking widespread dissatisfaction among entrepreneurs in the Mauricie region, who are already struggling to find workers and are now having to lay off their younger employees.
• Also read: Minimum working age set at 14: “We could destroy 90,000 dreams!” regrets the CFIB
Campsites such as Camping Parc de la Péninsule in Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan will be forced to lay off several employees once the new law comes into force. Most of these employees are employed guarding the arcades, the miniature golf course or as lifeguards.
We see the same at Aquaparc H2O in Trois-Rivières, where a dozen lifeguards and maintenance workers under 14 are employed.
Several employees are inevitably laid off.
“I need someone else, otherwise we will have to close the attractions,” said Sophie Bellemare, managing director of Aquaparc H2O.
While recruiting staff is currently difficult, replacing a dozen workers is likely to be a challenge.
An exception is that children under the age of 14 are allowed to work in a family business, but only if it has fewer than ten employees. The father and owner of the 1200 Degrés company in Trois-Rivières, François Proulx, will therefore have to prevent his 13-year-old son from continuing to work in the company.
“He is very disappointed. He looked forward to coming to work. There is absolutely no evidence that workers’ safety is better at work in a company with fewer than ten employees or on a farm. We know farms can be dangerous,” Mr Proulx said, adding that instead the government should ensure young people are working in safe places.
The same applies to one of the partners of Enseignes FX Boisvert, who can no longer offer his 13-year-old son a job after the law came into force. “It’s a bit flat to tell them that they will no longer be able to help and get a little wage a week,” explained Stéphane Bellerive.
Mr Proulx has received numerous messages in recent days from family business owners and parents who are concerned and angry and are demanding explanations from Labor Secretary Jean Boulet.