As school year begins, Quebec law limiting work hours for teens comes into effect
'Young people's primary job is to be students,' says labour minister
As students start returning to classes across the province, Quebec's rule to limit the number of hours teens can work during the school year is coming into effect.
As announced last March by Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet, the law limits working hours for teens aged 14-16 to 17 hours a week with a maximum of 10 hours of work on weekdays and seven hours on the weekend. It also set the minimum legal working age at 14.
Boulet says he is convinced the law will help students succeed academically.
At a news conference on Wednesday, alongside representatives from the education and business sectors, Boulet defended the new rule which will come into effect Sept. 1.
Psychological effects of balancing school and work
"Young people's primary job is to be students," said Boulet. "We will see the benefits and advantages of this new rule."
The law has two goals: keep kids in school and protect them from workplace injuries.
Boulet says statistics show that nearly a third of teenagers who work more than 16 hours a week drop out of school. Between 2017 and 2022, he said, the number of work accidents involving youth skyrocketed, although he did not offer detailed figures.
Boulet says the government studied approaches taken by other countries and looked at statistics about teens and school-work balance before deciding on the 17-hour work week.
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He referred to a study on psychological health among people age 12 to 25 which found that those worked more than 15 hours per week reported symptoms of depression or anxiety. He says about 40 per cent felt exhausted by the time they got home.
"This is worrisome and it's a concern shared by parents," said Boulet.
Sending students and employers 'a signal'
Andrée Mayer-Périard, who is part of a network of organizations that work toward student success, said on Wednesday that the law marks another step in the progress they've been making over the past 20 years regarding child labour laws.
"We have seen an increase in the number of hours kids have been working over the past few years and they're getting younger and younger," said Mayer-Périard, president of the Réseau Québécois pour la réussite éducative.
"It's a phenomenon we've seen in Secondary 3, 4 and 5 but now see this in Secondary 1 and 2 … We have to send them a signal."
In Quebec, Secondary 1 is the equivalent of Grade 7 in the rest of the country and high school ends after Secondary 5.
Although Quebec is in the midst of a serious labour shortage, kids are not the solution, said Karl Blackburn, the head of the largest employers' group in the province, the Conseil du patronat du Québec.
"We can't ask youth to bear the weight of the staff shortage in all the regions," said Blackburn.
"Education benefits all of us and we have to ensure our young people are educated and trained so they can be the best employees, employers and citizens today, tomorrow and in the future. That's what guided our decision."
WATCH | Why Quebec moved to tighten child labour laws:
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