Work and School

Contrary to popular belief, young people can legally start working well before the age of 16! There is no minimum age in Quebec.

However, there are rules on issues other than age. Under a law called the Act respecting labour standards, employers cannot:

• Make teenagers do work that exceeds their abilities or could negatively affect their health, development, or education.
• Make them work without the written permission of their parents, unless they are over 14. (Some other conditions must still be respected for those over 14, but they don’t relate to parental permission.)
• Make them work during school hours if they are still obliged to attend school, or between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. (except for newspaper delivery and artistic jobs).

Also, during school nights, an employer must schedule a teenager’s hours so that he can be home by 11 p.m. There are some exceptions: this rule does not apply to young people working for summer camps or recreational groups, or in the arts, or to those who live with their employers, such as housekeepers.

Finally, babysitters and other young people who do occasional work, for example, mowing lawns, are not covered by the Act respecting labour standards.

No. Child labour laws vary by country, even if more than 190 countries signed the Convention. Some countries allow very young children to work under certain conditions, while others totally prohibit children from working. The International Labour Organization reports that approximately 317 million children between the ages of five and 17 did work of some kind in 2004, and that the work was dangerous for 126.3 million of them. Dangerous work is work that harms a child’s physical, mental or moral welfare. This includes work that requires too many hours or is excessively difficult, and prostitution and slavery. Young workers are found mainly in agriculture, retail businesses on a small scale (drinks, fruit, souvenirs, etc.), crafts, and services (garbage collection, shoe shining, etc.). Mohammed’s situation - working long hours in his parents’ restaurant - is not completely different from that of other children around the world. Also, studies have shown that it is not always a bad thing for children to work. Working part-time can have a positive impact on the future productivity and sense of responsibility of Canadian teenagers. Not only can work be beneficial and satisfying, it can also help develop technical and social skills not learned in school.

What the Convention says... Countries that agreed to the Convention must set a minimum age below which children cannot work, and must set the conditions under which children can work. This is to protect people under 18 from work that endangers their health or negatively affects their education and development. Read Article 32 of the Convention.

In Quebec No. In Quebec, children between the ages of six and 16 must go to school. It wasn’t always this way. School did not become compulsory until 1943. Before then, parents still thought it was important to send their children to school, but sometimes attendance was irregular.  In 1943, school become compulsory for children between the ages of seven and 14. As mentioned above, the ages have changed today. In earlier times, many children helped out on family farms and missed school for long periods. In rural areas, children often stopped school at the end of March and returned in November. Boys often did chores around the farm, such as shearing sheep, ploughing, sowing, harvesting vegetables, stacking wood, etc. In larger families, girls were often asked to help raise younger brothers and sisters, and to keep the house clean. Today, this is still the reality in many societies around the world, even if it is no longer the case in Quebec. Some educational experts have recently suggested making children attend school until the age of 18 to bring down the number of school drop-outs. Elsewhere in the World The age at which children can leave school differs around the world. In most western countries, it is between 14 and 16. Some American states, such as California, Hawaii, and Washington, have set the age at 18. Some countries have found a way to reconcile work and a child’s right to an education. For example, Mexico has a program that encourages parents to send their children to school. Two million families receive an average of $25 each month for keeping their children in school. Since the average monthly income of these families is about $100, this money makes a difference and helps compensate for the income lost when a family sends a child to school instead of to work.

What the Convention says... Countries that agreed to the Convention recognize the right to free, compulsory, primary education. The Convention also says that countries must help children reach their full potential, encourage them to go to school, and try to prevent them from dropping out.   Read Article 28 of the Convention.

There are many government programs that help ensure children and teenagers lead a balanced life, even if it is hard to find the right to relax directly mentioned in our laws. For example, schools and municipalities offer activities such as sports, drama, dance, student council, etc. This balance is a real concern, so much so that the countries that signed the Convention made leisure time a fundamental right for children and teenagers. A 2005 study found that Canadian teenagers put in a lot of time each week at school, doing homework, working, and doing household chores. In fact, among 9 countries in the study done by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Canadian teenagers put in the most hours doing these activities: on average 7.1 hours per day. This is comparable to the schedule of Canadian adults, who spend 50 hours per week on the same activities. The study also found that two-thirds of Canadian teenagers (64 %) slept fewer hours so they could fit everything they wanted to do into their days! Mohammed is not the only one who is short on time!

What the Convention says... Children and teenagers often have to juggle school, work, and chores at home. The Convention says that they should have enough free time to play, see friends, do sports and relax.  Read Article 31 of the Convention.