Even Though He’s Not Allowed To Buy Tobacco, A Minor Can Sell It And Request ID Legally

For this second legal monthly column brought to you by Deveau LawyersJean-Philippe Maurice answers a question from Julie Fortin, owner of Tabagie Baie-Comeau located in the city of the same name, who wonders if it is legal to allow a minor employee to work at the checkout counter, sell tobacco and request ID to make sure customers are 18 +.


1) There is something ironic about employing a minor (15, 16 years old) to sell tobacco to adults and request ID

Yes, obviously.

On the one hand, the law heavily penalizes c-store owners for selling tobacco to minors, and on the other hand, it implicitly allows these same minors to sell tobacco as part of their work in a depanneur.

2) Is it legal for a minor employee to sell tobacco?

Yes, it is legal.

The Tobacco Control Act is silent on the issue, as is its regulations.

Section 14.1 of that Act only provides that “tobacco may not be sold retail except in a tobacco retail outlet, with both the operator of the retail outlet or an employee of the operator and the purchaser physically present. “

However, although the law does not provide a definition of what constitutes an “employee”, it must be agreed that it would normally be a person — adult or underaged — hired to sell tobacco in a convenience store.

“Hence, in the absence of a specific provision against it, it must be considered that a minor can effectively sell tobacco as an employee.” — Me Jean-Philippe Maurice

It should be noted, however, that the law strictly prohibits a minor from buying tobacco for himself or for others, except as part of a control operation.

“Thus, despite the “privileged” access to tobacco available to him in the course of his shift, a minor is not allowed to take advantage of it in any way” — Me Jean-Philippe Maurice

At any event, a formal ban on the sale of tobacco by a minor would probably be problematic for c-store owners, considering the difficulty of managing human resources that would result.

We can easily foresee that in such a case, it would be necessary to ensure the presence of an adult employee at any time in the workplace for the sole purpose of selling tobacco, which would probably create problems for owners and managers.

3) What is the minimum age?

The Tobacco Control Act is silent on the issue.

In this context, we must fall back on the provisions of the Act concerning labor standards which, with some exceptions, specifies that one must be at least 14 years old to be able to work.

The minimum age is therefore 14 years old.

Yo! Can you show me your ID? I must make sure you’re 18 +.

4) Also, can a minor be left alone at the checkout counter or should there always be supervision?

Nothing prevents a minor employee aged 14 and over from being left alone at the checkout counter to sell tobacco.

However, despite the absence of specific provision in the law on the matter, we can not emphasize too much the importance of overseeing as much as possible a minor employee tasked with selling tobacco at a point of sale.

Indeed, a high level of supervision by a responsible adult suggests a willingness of the owner to comply with the law, especially with respect to the sale of tobacco to minors and therefore, could optimize the quality of its due diligence defense to be presented in case of infringement.

Questions? Do not hesitate. Write directly to Jean-Philippe Maurice by clicking HERE.

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