The “completely uncontrolled explosion” in the number of young people in first and second secondary who work worries the solidarity deputy Alexandre Leduc. The latter summoned the Minister of Labor Jean Boulet not to include in his future bill exceptions for the field of catering and retail trade.
“Does the Minister agree that below 14 years, the job of our children is on the school benches and not at McDo? asked Mr. Leduc during question period at the National Assembly.
The member brandished a study of approximately 18,000 Quebecers aged 12 to 25, which was the subject of an article in the Duty last Wednesday. In January 2023, 54% of secondary 1 respondents said they were working, compared to 13% in January 2022.
The place of children is in school, said Mr. Boulet, in the House. “We must make sure to protect the health and safety of our children and ensure that their academic career is not affected,” he added.
The minister is due to table a bill shortly to better regulate child labour. The recommendation of trade unions and employers’ associations is to set 14 as the minimum working age.
Quebec solidaire fears, however, that lobbyists are asking for an exception for restaurants and retail. Last week, QS co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois brandished a lobbying mandate from the Association des restaurateurs with the objective of “preventing the addition of a minimum age to have access to the market work “.
Asked whether the bill will include an exception for these areas, Jean Boulet did not provide a clear answer. However, he claimed to The Canadian Press not having “intensive lobbying” from restaurateurs.
At the Blue Room on Thursday, he pointed out that lobbyists are part of associations “which have the right to express their opinions”. “We listen to them, we consult,” he said.
Work-study balance shocks QS
The concept of work-study balance mentioned in the article of the Duty Wednesday took the breath away from Alexandre Leduc, he said. “Have we so lost our minds with the labor shortage that we have come to find it normal to reconcile work and studies for children in the first cycle of secondary school? “, was indignant the member for Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
The young people surveyed during the research said they work in order to save money and obtain the goods they want. Dr. Mélissa Généreux, head of the medical consultant survey at Public Health in Estrie, fears, however, that the work will serve to fill a “void in family life or life with friends who is not at the top. “.
Mr. Leduc believes that this avenue should be explored in a parliamentary committee. As is the high rate of symptoms of anxiety or depression reported among girls in high school and graduate school. “There is a cry of alarm being raised here,” he warned, about the results of the study.
With Jean-Louis Bordeleau and The Canadian Press
Further details will follow.