Rules for young workers

New rules governing teen workers are set to take effect October 15, two years after the province asked farmers to provide input on the regulations.

The new regulations give effect to Bill 8, passed in May 2019, which raised the minimum employment age from 12 to 16 years in a bid to protect young workers. Youth aged 14 and 15 can still hold employment with the consent of their parents, but will be restricted to “light duty.” In the case of farming operations, this includes hand-harvesting produce.

The regulation applies exclusively to employment relationships, but the rules governing family members are less clear. Children as young as 12 may be employed on the family farm or a farm business owned by an immediate family member, according to a program expert at the BC Ministry of Labour, “without a permit from the director of employment standards, provided that the work does not involve the specified elements that make the work unsafe for children.”

Situations the ministry says are now generally treated as unsafe for youth under 16 include repairing, maintaining or operating heavy machinery; lifting, carrying or moving heavy items or animals; and using, handling or applying hazardous substances, such as pesticides.

But the program expert clarified that if youth are “simply performing a chore, then the regulation does not have any impact on the situation.”

While the ministry has given greater clarity around what is acceptable for young farm workers, it is now developing a definition of “hazardous work” for 16 to 18 year-olds. It anticipates regulatory

changes later this year that will define such situations.

The changes reflect the input of 1,700 respondents to the 2019 consultation and are largely consistent with guidance from the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, which encourages farmers to give children age-appropriate chores.

“Family farming and ranching is the lifeblood of BC’s agricultural sector,” said Chelsea Enns and Albert Gorter of Morningstar Farm in Parksville in statements endorsing the new rules. “It’s important to have a balanced approach to employment for young people; a model that allows farm kids to safely contribute, learn the ropes and build a passion for the family business.”

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19 hours ago

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1 day ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

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5 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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6 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.