The B.C. government is asking for public feedback on what jobs are hazardous for young people and should be considered for age regulation in the province.
A new survey, released Thursday, asks residents to comment on what jobs might be to dangerous for people under the age of 16 or even under the age of 19.
The province said injury data from WorkSafeBC flagged several industries as possibilities, including construction, forestry, food processing, oil and gas, power, and asbestos abatement.
The government said that while the average annual injury rate across B.C. is 2.1 per 100 workers, that rate jumps to 7.8 in construction and almost 20 in manual tree fallers.
The survey is part of ongoing work being conducted by the Ministry of Labour to improve employment standards in the province. It comes after the general working age in B.C. was raised last year from 12 to 16 and after "light work" tasks suitable for those aged 14 and 15 were identified. Those tasks must be done with parental permission, however.
"The new rules do not prevent children from babysitting or delivering newspapers part time, or students from working in a work-study or work experience class which are among the jobs excluded from these rules," the province said.
The survey, which is available until June 10, asks respondents to consider injury rates of industry sub-sectors, then say what the minimum age should be to work in that field.
It also outlines laws in other jurisdictions. For example, on a question about heights, the survey explains Ontario requires window washers to be at least 18 years old if they're working higher than three metres.
The Ministry of Labour said if a type of work is identified as hazardous and ultimately included in the regulation, employers won't be allowed to hire a person younger than the minimum age to do that job.
