Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk answers a question during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Monday, April 11, 2016.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
The federal government is set to ratify an international agreement on combatting child labour, but internal documents suggest Canada has little ability or experience enforcing similar provisions in trade agreements.
Those agreements with the world's most advanced and fastest growing economies allow Canada to exact monetary penalties, including up to $15-million as part of a labour agreement with Colombia.
However, documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the access to information say Canada has little experience in ensuring that international partners meet the binding labour obligations outlined in agreements.
The background material prepared by the labour program at Employment and Social Development Canada last year also says dispute resolution and financial penalty processes are untested internationally.
Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk said Canada still needs to work on its enforcement and compliance efforts.
There are various approaches, she says.
"Instead of looking at enforcement and penalties, we're actively engaged with Colombia, Honduras, Vietnam," she said.
"We would look at providing technical assistance, assisting them to find a different path, encouraging them to follow best practices that comply with the declaration.
"So I would rather see us working co-operatively with other nations rather than looking at penalties."
Mihychuk said she is looking to increase capacity in the area by boosting the federal labour program's budget, because domestic businesses want the government to ensure competitors aren't using child labour to gain an economic advantage.
Next week, Mihychuk will put her signature on the International Labour Organization's convention on the minimum age for work, bringing Canada on board with 168 other countries that have ratified the convention.
The convention states that the minimum age for work should be 15.
"It's basically saying that we see the value of young people and that they should be at school, that they should not be in the work force," Mihychuk said.
Mihychuk said signing the agreement won't outlaw having tweens help out on the family farms, babysit, or take part in traditional aboriginal practices.
The decision to ratify the convention comes after more than a year of reviews by federal officials and talks with provincial and territorial governments.
Here are some facts and figures about children at work:
168 million: Estimated number of child labourers in 2013
44: Percentage of child labourers who are between the ages of 5 and 11
85 million: Children worldwide who do hazardous work
98 million: Child workers in the agricultural sector worldwide
78 million: Child workers in the Asia-Pacific region, the highest total worldwide
21: Percentage of children in Sub-Saharan Africa who are in child labour, making it the region with the highest incidence rate in the world.
40: Percentage drop between 2000 and 2012 in the number of girls working around the world.
25: Percentage drop between 2000 and 2012 in the number of boys working.