Child labour began to be used on a larger scale with industrialization. Children were employed to perform tasks that required little skill or strength, for example, "feeding" certain machine tools, or other unskilled work. Since there was no legislation at that time establishing a minimum age for entering the work force, it was in the employer's interest to hire children for certain jobs, since they did not have to be paid as much as adults. This photograph shows a group of employees, including several children, who worked at Keen's sawmill in Ditchfield Township near Lake Megantic.
Courtesy: La SociÄtÄ d'Histoire des Cantons de l'Est, Sherbrooke
