Narratives Justifying Unregulated Child Labour in Agriculture

Abstract

Canadian governments statutorily limit the employment of children under the age of 15. Nevertheless, child agricultural employment in the Province of Alberta is largely unregulated. This paper identifies and evaluates the narratives used to justify this exclusion. Analysis suggests these rationales are at once both deficient and robust and they draw attention away from the interplay between economic pressures facing agricultural operators and the limited social rights of children.