This article is taken from the special issue of Le Figaro “D’Est en Ouest – Vivre au Canada”, available on the Figaro Store.
“You can’t work at the checkout, you’re only 12,” says Hans, 15, cashier at a supermarket in eastern Montreal to a young boy. The latter defends himself. “I’m 13,” he grumbles, while piling up baskets near Hans’ cash register, before walking away pushing shopping carts. ” I like my job. This is my first jobine (job). I started last month and I’m there about fifteen hours a week,” the young boy says, all smiles. Hans, who would be given less than his age, also enjoys his job. “There are only young people here. Adults are there to control us and give us advice,” he says.
And the salary? The teenager slumps, looks right and left to make sure no one is listening. “It’s only the minimum wage, 14.25 dollars an hour (about 9.90 euros)”. If the employment of young people aged 15 to 19, active in addition to their studies, has existed for decades in Quebec, the phenomenon has increased in recent years. They would be more than half to work, against 42% in 2016. More and more children aged 11 to 14 are joining them.
“North America is a working society par excellence,” argues Mircea Vultur. The proof is: seniors work too. For Montreal families, the weekend often starts at Canadian Tire, a huge supermarket that mixes DIY and home furnishings. Rather than going towards a young employee, a couple goes towards an employee in a red polo shirt, the company uniform. The employee is approaching 70. The man confides that he has been working there for a few years and that he does not intend to retire anytime soon. Customers prefer to opt for an older worker, considered more experienced.
In another major Canadian DIY chain, Rona, the manager of a store in downtown Montreal, explains that seniors are better off with customers, who identify experience, competence and kindness all at the same time. So much so that the company preferably hires seniors in its DIY stores, which are generally small areas.
The importance of senior employment in Canada can also be explained socially. Age is not a handicap in Canada. Pragmatic recruiters judge someone based on their skills, not their age. Especially since seniors are suitable for companies. While they require more flexibility in their work schedules, they are self-sufficient and require little supervision.
In Quebec, it is the CNESST (the Commission for standards, equity, health and safety at work) which is responsible for the application of labor laws. If, until now, children under 14 could work subject to obtaining parental authorization, the situation has changed. A bill tabled by Minister Jean Boulet has just been adopted and now regulates the work of minors. Those under 14 can therefore no longer be employed except in exceptional cases: child artists, newspaper deliverers, babysitters, homework help or tutoring, employment in a family business with -10 employees, work within an association sporting, social or non-profit community.
The oldest will not be able to work more than 17 hours, including a maximum of 10 hours worked from Monday to Friday. The law will come into force at the start of the next school year. In the other provinces of Canada, things are a little different and can change depending on the professional sector. Thus, in service in restaurants, hotels or stadiums, those over 14 are accepted, while it is necessary to be over 15 to prove yourself in the kitchen, to have reached 16 for the construction industry , and 18 years old to work in a factory. But you have to look at the legislation in force in each territory to avoid finding yourself outside the law.
