This provision, which is at the center of the law of the Minister of Labor Jean Boulet, would be in force as soon as the bill is approved. However, it provides for some exceptions and would allow employers to hire young people under the age of 14 to fill jobs that constitute extension of school and family life
and which include few health and safety risks
.
Among the possible exceptions, babysitting, help with homework, animation in summer camps, artistic practices as well as work in certain family businesses are cited as examples.
However, parental authorization would be required for a child under the minimum age to work. Certain types of paid work would also need to be done under adult supervision in order to qualify for a waiver.
The bill also establishes at 17 the number of weekly hours of work permitted for a child aged 14 and over who is subject to compulsory school attendance. Ten hours of work would be permitted during the week, from Monday to Friday. These scales defining the maximum number of hours of work allowed would apply from September 1, 2023.
Until a certain number of hours, [le travail] is beneficial for children, for their self-confidence, for the development of skills and competences. But beyond a certain number of hours, it becomes difficult and it affects their career [scolaire]
explained Mr. Boulet.
One of the main objectives of Bill 19 intended to modernize the supervision of child labor was precisely to promote school perseverance.
The Minister also wanted this piece of legislation to establish certain limits on child labor for ensure their health and safety
while protecting their physical and mental integrity
.
« We want to enable their educational success because it is tomorrow’s next generation. It is fundamental for us to ensure that this has no impact on their school career. »
Extensive consultations were carried out upstream by Minister Boulet, who notably asked the opinion of the opposition parties on this subject.
It is a bill that relies heavily on consultation, he said. I asked the Labor and Labor Advisory Committee [CCTM]the leaders of the employers’ associations and the leaders of the major trade unions to look into the question, to analyze the laws that exist in Canada and the international conventions.
last December, they submitted a report to me with a strong consensus and unanimous recommendations. It was somewhat the common thread of my reflection”,”text”:”On December 8, they submitted a report to me with a strong consensus and unanimous recommendations. It was a bit the common thread of my thinking””>On December 8, they submitted a report to me with strong consensus and unanimous recommendations. It was a bit the common thread of my reflection
he added.
The Minister of Labour, Jean Boulet.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Sylvain Roy Roussel
A disturbing phenomenon
The Child Labor Framework Bill responds to growing and widespread concerns about the practice, which often has serious consequences for children. In addition to harming school perseverance, it is responsible for an increasing number of injuries.
In fact, according to figures released by the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST), the number of occupational injuries reported among children aged 14 and under rose from 10 to 64 per year between 2017 and 2021, which represents an increase of 540%.
For children 16 and under, the annual number of recorded injuries jumped from 278 to 447 over the same period, a 60.8% increase.
To strengthen child labor health and safety, the bill proposes the implementation of certain prevention mechanisms. There CNESST could also grant financial assistance to labor market players to support prevention initiatives.
In a context of labor shortage, some employers could be tempted to contravene the provisions of the future law. In order to dissuade them, the Legault government proposes to considerably increase the amount of fines distributed to offenders. The bill provides for doubling the minimum amount of fines compared to what is prescribed by the Act respecting labor standards. They would go from $600 to $1,200 for a first offense and from $6,000 to $12,000 for subsequent ones.
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 a young person to be eligible for the labor market is between 13 and 16 years old. In the cases of Alberta and British Columbia, however, exceptions are provided.
For Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, an employer must hold a license or authorization to hire children under the age of 14. In New Brunswick, he must have one for young people under 16 years of age.
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 hiring children under 15 years of age. 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] established a maximum number of weekly or daily working hours for children.
This limit varies from two to four hours of daily work during school days and from six to eight hours of work during days off. The work week cannot exceed a certain number of hours in Saskatchewan [16 heures] as well as British Columbia and Manitoba [20 heures].
With information from Marika Wheeler, Sébastien Bovet and Pascal Poinlane
