There is a Saskatoon area chicken producer who was told by Occupational Health and Safety officials she can't deploy or employ her children as helpers since they are under the age of 16. Nor can she hire others under that age to process poultry.
Janeen Colvin, the chicken producer, is dismayed because the raising and butchering business has been part of the family's lifestyle for generations.
Her eight and 10-year-old girls know all about ranching and farming lifestyles. They understand the production cycle and the idea of eviscerating chickens doesn't bother them. It only bothers OHS.
They know how to cut and remove innards. They know all the parts and where they go on the dinner plates or the Colonel's bucket. Mom won't allow them to cut and dice at this early age, but they would have probably done it a few times as a rehearsal for later.
I guess they can't now.
Okay, what rancher, farmer or, for that matter, practically any business person with kids, has not deployed them to do certain tasks that would not always fall under the green light acceptance code of OHS over the years?
How many 12-year-olds have gone branding or helped with the calving?
How many 14-year-olds have driven grain trucks?
Forget the farm. As I wrote earlier, my mother had me mixing photography chemicals when I was nine years old and I know the way I did it would not pass muster in today's over protective world of regulations. But I do believe my Mom still loved me and wouldn't put me in harm's way, nor would Janeen.
Yes, I know accidents happen, and they happen on farms and ranches. But they can happen during a pleasure ride on a horse that suddenly spooks, or it can happen while roping calves. Take your pick. OHS will never eliminate them all. Crazy things happen, things that are, of course, never planned. You can't bubble wrap kids. They have to grow, learn and absorb and sometimes those lessons hurt. Some hurt more than others.
Now, Janeen's kids are being denied the privilege of contributing to their farm. They'll have to learn about chicken innards on the computer in the safety of a library or resource room and not in the farmyard where there are actual chickens.
Killing chickens, calves, steers, cows, pigs, piglets and baby seals is not a pleasant duty, especially if they're cute looking. But as long as we want meat, somebody will to be doing away with our goats, lambs and other agriculture critters on a regular basis.
Janeen's kids are not squeamish about the prospect. If she wanted to do the chicken process as part of a farmgate business, then Janeen could re-deploy her kids and OHS couldn't do much about it. But she's conducting an honest retail eviscerating operation, so kids can't be part of it. Not in Canada. You can catch two fish if you're nine years old and out in a boat with Dad. Join him on a trawler to bring in 400 fish? That's different.
Kill four ducks on a hunting trip, remove feathers and innards and dine fine. Do it for Sobeys and it's different, you are suddenly performing inappropriate tasks.
Fill up one truck with gas, you're good to go. Fill up 200 trucks with gas for pay well it seems you have to be 16 years old.
I know, I know, it's about safety, but sometimes regulations get in the way of life's lessons, and that should bother us, at least a little bit.
