Quebec's labour minister will table a bill as early as February to limit the presence of children in the labour market, The Canadian Press has learned.
Minister Jean Boulet confirmed his intentions to the news agency, shortly after receiving a report from the Comité consultatif du travail et de la main-d'œuvre (CCTM), or Advisory Committee on Labour and Workforce in English.
The grouping of unions and employer associations unanimously recommends that the general age of admission to employment be set at 14.
In plain language, this would mean that youth aged 11, 12 or 13 years old would no longer be able to work, except for exceptions that would be provided for by regulation.
The CCTM also recommends that youth between the ages of 14 and 16 be prohibited from working more than 17 hours per week, including weekends, during the school year.
Monday to Friday would be a maximum of 10 hours. The latter two restrictions would not apply during vacations and spring break.
SAFETY AND STUDENT RETENTION
In the midst of a labour shortage, more and more children are entering the workforce.
Their increased presence in the workplace raises not only health and safety issues, with accidents jumping by 36 per cent among children under 16 in 2021, but also school dropouts.
Last June, Boulet reviewed the existing legislation, an exercise that led him to see "opportunities for improvement" in the Act respecting labour standards.
He is committed to legislating "based on" the CCTM report, without guaranteeing that all of its recommendations will be included in the bill.
"What is fundamental ... is to ensure that work does not affect the academic career, that it allows for school perseverance … Too many hours increase the dropout rate," he said in an interview.
He added that we must better "protect young people."
"We have to make sure that we don't make 12 and 13-year-olds work in restaurant kitchens or in sawmills …. We can't accept that."
"Age is one way, but it's the addition of the recommendations that will have an impact," he said. The CCTM also recommends more targeted awareness campaigns.
The committee would also like the ministries of Labour and Employment to document more child labour in order to better understand its evolution.
This would mean having a better statistical picture, such as knowing the number of workers, their age and their sector of activity.
It should also be written into the law that all the rules relating to child labour must always be interpreted in the interest of the children, giving priority to their development and academic success, according to the CCTM.
"We have to be better," said Boulet.
"We won't eliminate all risks … but we have to be better."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 12, 2022.
