The Sask. Chamber of Commerce wants 13-year-olds to be able to work. Not everyone is happy about it

The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce has a novel solution to dealing with what they say is a labour shortage in the province — lowering the minimum working age from 14 years old to 13.

The recommendation is contained in the chamber's platform for the upcoming provincial election, which is meant to provide political parties "with information on the priorities of Saskatchewan businesses," according to the organization.

While the proposed policy is nowhere close to being reality yet, it's already receiving pushback from experts and labour organizations. 

"I find it very troubling. I'm not sure where this is coming from," Lori Johb, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour. 

"For decades now, we've said that children have to be of a certain age to work, and 13 is far too young, as far as we're concerned."

It's not clear why the chamber of commerce has suggested lowering the minimum working age.

It did not provide a response to a series of questions by deadline, and CBC News was told an interview on the subject would not be possible this week. 

Instead, the chamber provided a statement saying it has been an unequivocal advocate for workplace safety and workplace standards.

"Ultimately, the [Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce] believes the decision for a youth to enter the workforce resides with the youth and their family/guardian," the statement read. 

The only context to the recommendation is that it follows a section in the chamber's platform that highlights workforce challenges in Saskatchewan, including a lack of skilled workers and a labour shortage. 

Johb says providing higher wages or full-time work with benefits are effective ways to deal with labour shortages.

"I think that for a lot of people, they're working two or three jobs just to be able to pay their bills and to afford their families and to do all the things," Johb said. 

"Making sure that people are going to work younger is not going to help that at all." 

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