Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Canada (Ratification: 2000)

Articles 3(d) and 4(1) of the Convention. Hazardous work. 1. Federal legislation. The Committee previously noted that the Government was in the process of consultation with various stakeholders in assessing the impact of the recommendations put forth by the Federal Labour Standards Review Commission concerning the revision of the provisions of the Labour Code to raise the age under which it is prohibited to employ children for certain types of hazardous work from 17 to 18 years of age. The Government indicated that it would be able to report further on this specific issue once the process of updating the Canada Labour Code was further advanced.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 (Bill C-86) – which includes amendments to the Canada Labour Code to raise the minimum age of employment in hazardous occupations from 17 to 18 years – received Royal Assent in December 2018. The legislative amendments require regulatory changes before they can come into force. Initial regulatory consultations were held between June and August of 2019. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the amendments to the Canada Labour Code raising the minimum age of employment in hazardous occupations to 18 years will come into force in the very near future, and requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

2. Provincial legislation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, while prohibitions exist throughout Newfoundland and Labrador’s legislation that prevent persons under the age of 18 years from working in hazardous employment, the general minimum age established for admission to harmful and hazardous work is 16 years (Labour Standards Act). Similarly, the general minimum age established for admission to harmful and hazardous work in Prince Edward Island (Youth Employment Act) is 16 years, and 17 years in Nunavut (Labour Standards Act and Employment of Young Persons Regulations). While recalling the provisions of Article 3(d) of the Convention as stated above, the Committee also recalled that Paragraph 4 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 (No. 190), addresses the possibility of authorizing the employment or work of young persons as from the age of 16 years under strict conditions that their health and safety be protected and that they receive adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity, and that employers’ and workers’ organizations be consulted.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that Newfoundland and Labrador is not considering amending its legislation to establish a general prohibition for young persons under the age of 18 to perform hazardous work. It indicates that the protection provided under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act and Regulations are very progressive about hazardous work and workplaces, and that they require employers to ensure a safe workplace and provide the appropriate training, equipment, systems and tools to ensure the health and safety of workers. Furthermore, the OHS Act and Regulations require workers to be qualified, knowledgeable and experienced to work in or around areas that are considered hazardous.

In Prince Edward Island, a comprehensive review of the Employment Standards Act and Youth Employment Act is pending, during which this issue may be addressed. The Government indicates, however, that the Occupational Health and Safety Act currently applies to all workers regardless of age, and that section 12(1) of the Act covers the conditions set out in Paragraph 4 of Recommendation No. 190. As for Nunavut, while it had been in the process of reviewing the Labour Standards Act to propose significant amendments, including to the young worker provisions, the Government indicates that there are no changes to the Labour Standards Act and the Employment of Young Persons Regulations at this time. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the review of the Employment Standards Act of Prince Edward Island, including whether the issue of raising the minimum age for admission to hazardous work is from 16 to 18 years is addressed in that context. In the case of Nunavut, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the review of the Labour Standards Act is still ongoing and whether this review will adequately address the issue stated above.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (b) and (d). Direct assistance for removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Indigenous children. While taking due note of the measures taken by the Government related to the protection of indigenous children, the Committee previously noted that human rights mechanisms had underlined that indigenous children were still subjected to discrimination in Canada, in particular in education.

The Committee takes note of the Government’s detailed information on the more recent initiatives taken, which include strategies or action plans to eliminate education gaps between indigenous and non-indigenous students, and improve education attainment levels and success rates (for example, Manitoba’s Reconciliation Strategy, and its First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education Policy and Action Plan; Nova Scotia’s Treaty Education strategy; and Ontario’s Indigenous Education Strategy and Indigenous Children and Youth Strategy). In Alberta, one of the four components of focus for the Ministry of Education in its Education Business Plan (2021–2024) is Indigenous education, through collaboration with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, in order to support students in prospering through their learning journeys.

In addition, several provinces are investing in initiatives, programmes and projects to support Indigenous communities and learners. This includes Manitoba’s Indigenous Academic Achievement Grant to improve the academic success of Indigenous students, as well as its funding in support of 36 schools in urban, rural and northern communities through the Community School Program, almost half of which is directed towards Indigenous students and their families. Ontario is making a 200 million dollars (CAD) investment over three years to support Indigenous learners, including 56 million CAD to Indigenous Institutes to support capacity building with the flexibility for each institute to determine its priorities. In Québec, the budget lines of four measures related to service centres and school boards have been increased, including Indigenous awareness-raising projects, projects aimed at the educational success of Indigenous students, and support for Indigenous education and northern development projects.

Finally, some province or territory-specific initiatives include: (i) British Columbia’s initiatives aimed at supporting student-centred learning and improving equity of outcomes of Indigenous children, in particular through partnerships with Indigenous groups, through the implementation of its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act; (ii) the development of resources designed to encourage young people to stay in school until graduation by New Brunswick’s Department of Education (more information available here); (iii) the embedding of Indigenous-specific resources and supports throughout Ontario’s Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy; and (iv) the modernization of the Northwest Territories’ Education Act to improve student outcomes, including by ensuring that schools are equipped to offer high quality educational programming such as an Indigenous languages curriculum.

The Committee notes however that statistics in certain provinces show that there remains important discrepancies between the indicators of schooling of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students (Alberta, Manitoba and in Québec (in relation to Cree students)), while other provinces or territories either do not provide any statistics (British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Ontario) or indicate that they do not have disaggregated statistics on the education rates of Indigenous students (New Brunswick and Québec (in relation to Inuit students)). In addition, while Newfoundland and Labrador indicates that the combination of its Schools Act, 1997, and Labour Standards Act, contribute to preventing child labour for all individuals under 16 years of age, it does not appear to adopt measures aimed specifically at protecting at-risk Indigenous children through education. The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the Government and once again encourages it to pursue its efforts to protect at-risk Indigenous children from the worst forms of child labour, particularly with respect to increasing their school enrolment rates and reducing their school drop-out rates. The Committee further requests the Government to take measures to ensure that statistics in this regard are made available in all Provinces and Territories, to the extent possible disaggregated by age and gender.