This provision, which is at the heart of Labor Minister Jean Boulet’s legislation, would come into force once the bill is adopted. However, it provides some exceptions and would allow employers to hire young people under the age of 14 for jobs that extend school and family life and pose low health and safety risks.
Babysitting, helping with homework, animation in summer camps, artistic practices and working in certain family businesses are examples of possible exceptions.
However, for a child under the minimum age, parental consent would be required to be allowed to work. Certain types of work would also need to take place under adult supervision to qualify for an exemption.
The bill also sets 17 as the allowable weekly working time for a school-age child aged 14 and over. Ten hours of work would be allowed during the week from Monday to Friday. These tables, which define the maximum number of working hours allowed, would apply from September 1, 2023.
Quebec Minister of Labor Jean Boulet. (file photo)
Photo: The Canadian Press / Jacques Boissinot
Up to a certain number of hours is an advantage [le travail] for children, for their self-confidence, for the development of skills and competences. But beyond a certain number of hours, it becomes difficult and affects academic careers, explained Mr Boulet.
One of the main goals of Bill 19 modernizing child labor control was precisely to promote school staying power.
The minister also wanted the law to establish certain limits on child labor to ensure their health and safety while protecting their physical and mental integrity.
“We want to enable their educational success, because it is the next generation of tomorrow. It is important to us that this does not affect your school career. »
— A quote from Jean Boulet, Quebec Minister of Labor
Extensive consultations were carried out beforehand by Minister Boulet, who in particular sought the views of the opposition parties on this issue.
It’s a bill that relies heavily on consultation, he said. I have asked the Labor and Manpower Advisory Committee (CCTM), the presidents of the employers’ federations and the presidents of the major union federations to look into the matter and analyze the existing laws and international conventions in Canada.
On December 8th they presented me with a report with strong consensus and unanimous recommendations. It was a bit of the common thread in my thinking, he added.
A worrying practice
The Child Labor Framework Bill responds to growing and widespread concern about the practice, which often has serious consequences for children. In addition to impairing school endurance, it is responsible for an increasing number of injuries.
In fact, according to figures released by the Commission on Standards, Equal Opportunity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST), the number of reported workplace injuries involving children under the age of 14 increased from 10 to 64 per year between 2017 and 2021, an increase of 540%.
For children under 16 years of age, the number of injuries recorded annually increased from 278 to 447 over the same period, an increase of 60.8%.
In order to strengthen the health protection and safety of child labor, the draft law proposes the implementation of certain preventive mechanisms. CNESST could also provide financial support to labor market actors to support prevention initiatives.
Faced with labor shortages, some employers may be tempted to breach the provisions of the future law. To discourage them, the Legault government is proposing to significantly increase penalties for offenders. The draft law provides for a doubling of the minimum penalties compared to the provisions of the Labor Standards Act. They would go from $600 to $1,200 for a first offense and from $6,000 to $12,000 for more.
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Rules vary by province
In Canada, the framework for child labor varies from province to province.
In Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia, the minimum age for entry into the labor market is between 13 and 16 years. However, exceptions are provided in the cases of Alberta and British Columbia.
For Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, an employer must be licensed or authorized to hire children under the age of 14. In New Brunswick he must have one for under 16s.
In some provinces, an employer must have parental consent to hire a child under the age of 14. In Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, this rule applies to the hiring of children under the age of 15. In Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador, parental authorization is required to allow young people under the age of 16 to work.
Most provinces [Alberta, Colombie-Britannique, Nouveau-Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Île-du-Prince-Édouard, Nouvelle-Écosse, Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador] set a maximum weekly or daily working time for children.
This limit varies from two to four hours of daily work on school days and six to eight hours of work on days off. The workweek in Saskatchewan cannot exceed a certain number of hours [16 heures] and British Columbia and Manitoba [20 heures].
With information from Marika Wheeler, Sébastien Bovet and Pascal Poinlane