Since June 1st, 2023, the law in Quebec is clear: it is forbidden to hire a youth less that 14 years of age to work in a job. It’s a measure that aims at protecting children, to ensure them that they will develop and grow in a healthy manner, and that nothing gets in the way of their education. Yet this law is often questioned, as some youths who want to work, and their families, find the situation frustrating.
This is true of Clara Yelle, an 11-year-old entrepreneur, founder of Clara Créa (Clara creates). For her, it’s not age that should be legislated. The law should consider intention, guidance… and the desire to learn how the economy works.
According to Quebec’s official government website, the law against working before the age of 14 is aimed at avoiding all forms of economic exploitation, physical and mental harm, as well as any interference in educational progress.
A few exceptions are authorized, including for young artists or for kids who work in a family business under parental guidance.
The government wants to “favor educational success” and “allow youths to concentrate on their learning, their leisure activities and their personal development.” A young person under the age of 14 can therefore not hold down a regular job nor receive a salary, except in very limited cases.
But in a world in which young entrepreneurs are making their mark, there are some very lively counterexamples. Let’s include Clara Yelle in that class.
A 6-Year Career
Clara Yelle didn’t wait for her teenage years to throw herself into the business world. At age 5, she was already participating in La grande journée des petits entreprneurs (tThe big day of little entrepreneurs), an annual event. These days she creates and sells jewelry, accessories and munchables under the label “Clara Créa.”
Bracelets, necklaces, keychains, edibles (often chocolate), and now a book for youth… This young girl has built a little artisanal empire with the support of her mother, Annie.
“I wanted to have my own money, but not just to spend. I learned that money doesn’t just fall from the sky. You have to work to have it,” she explains with self-assurance. Clara brings up her past shyness: “Thanks to my projects, I have learned how to express myself, to talk to people, and to believe in myself.”
Her testimony illustrates one of the paradoxes of the current law: how to balance the legitimate will to protect children with their desire to learn, to create and build, sometimes when very young?
Elan and Accompaniment
“I don’t agree with the ban on work,” Clara says. “What they should do is ask children if they’re working because they’re obliged to, or out of their own free will. And if they have the time and the interest, why not let them work?”
Clara’s mom believes the same thing: “Everything depends on accompaniment. With Clara, for example, we sit down and look at the sales, purchases, and profits. She learns about notions like autonomy and management. It’s financial education.”
In fact, Clara doesn’t sell every day. She participates in local markets, manages an Instagram page and a Facebook page, and sells during La grande journée des petits entrepreneurs. In her own eyes, the important thing isn’t to make profits, but to build something in her own image.
Role Model
Clara is inspiring. Her book, which came out in May of 2025, traces her journey from ages 5 to 11. Funny and educational, it has already influenced other children. It shows that you can learn to budget, make decisions, save… all before entering high school.
This pre-teen gives money to organizations, saves to help her mother pay the tuition for the high school she wants to go to, and plan how her pricing strategy will evolve. “Even if I lose money sometimes, my products are durable. I keep them in reserve.” Indeed, pearls and string do not decompose. For anything edible, that ends up in a stomach or two somewhere.
When she is asked if she wants to turn her projects into a real business, she replies with a mixture of candor and maturity: “I will see. I also want to be a police officer or a singer or a dancer.”
Instead of asking ourselves “should we forbid work until age 14?” we should be approaching the issue this way: “How can we guide, value and secure the ambitions of young people who want to start their own businesses?” Clar is not an employee on salary. She is not being exploited. She is not dropping out of school. She is experimenting, learning, evolving.
Her voice, like those of thousands of children who participate in La grande journée des petits entrepreneurs (more than 10,000 each year), deserves to be heard. Not to abolish laws that protect children, but to adapt laws to a world in which children also have ideas, passions and ambitions.
Clara adds: “I say to any child with an idea to not be afraid. Try. Ask your parents to help. You can do it!”
Photo courtesy Clara Créa
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