New bill coming to better control child labour in Quebec
Posted December 12, 2022 11:24 am.
Last Updated December 12, 2022 1:03 pm.
Quebec’s labour minister plans to table a bill as early as February to limit the number of children in the labour market, according of The Canadian Press.
Minister Jean Boulet plans on making the minimum age to join the Quebec job market 14 years old. That is the age recommended by several unions and employer associations in a recent report tabled by the Advisory Committee on Labour and Workforce.
That would mean 13, 12 and 11-year-olds would no longer be allowed to work, but there would be exceptions permitted under the new regulation.
The report also recommends 14 to 16-year-olds only be allowed to work a maximum of 17 hours a week during the school year. That limit would not apply during school breaks.
In an interview with the Canadian Press, Boulet said “we must protect our young people,” and that since the labour shortage more youth are entering the work force which is resulting in higher workplace accidents – an increase of 36 per cent for Quebecers under 16-years-old in 2021 – and a higher dropout rate.
He said it is fundamental that work does not affect the academic career and that too many work hours increase the dropout rate.
In the report, the committee also says the Quebec government should do a better job of documenting child labour, to better understand it.
Boulet says the new bill will be inspired by the report, without guaranteeing that all their recommendations would be implemented.
“We have to do better,” he said.
Currently in Quebec there is no minimum age to work, contrary to what is happening in six other Canadian provinces. However, a 14-year-old can only work with the permission of a parent or guardian.
Anyone under the age of 16-year-old, without a diploma, is also currently not allowed to work during school hours in our province.
