On October 1st, five Canadian provinces including Newfoundland, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta had raised their minimum wage rates. Having a minimum wage at &12.50 per hour, the Northwest Territories ranks the first on the chart for having the highest minimum wage in Canada. On the other hand, New Brunswick ranks the last with a minimum wage of only &10.30 per hour. On average, Canada’s minimum wage was $10.39 an hour last year.
This controversy has arisen in federal and provincial campaigns in 2015. Thomas Mulcair, the NDP leader, has promised that by 2019, the federal minimum wage will be boost to $15 per hour. In addition, Alberta Premier, Rachel Notley, plans to hike her province’s minimum wage to &15 per hour by 2018.
The executive director of Canada Without Poverty, Leilani Farha, defined the provincial growth as a “necessary, solid step forward”, which is able to make an actual change. “The increases will add $500 to $2,000 in gross annual income”, she said. “For a family living in poverty struggling to put food on the table, this is more than one month’s food allowance.” Nevertheless, Ms. Farha said, “living wages – the amount needed for a decent lifestyle – are far beyond the current minimum levels.”
Furthermore, the vice president of economy analysis at the C.D. Howe Institute, Craig Alexander, have said that the increase in minimum wage will help balance Canada’s income inequality.
Despite these benefits, some are against raising the minimum wage rate due to the fact that there is a greater possibility for companies to cut off workers if the change costs them more money to hire workers. However, the vice president of economy analysis at the C.D. Howe Institute, Craig Alexander, have said that:”businesses do not usually cut jobs when minimum wages go up, but they may slow new hiring – and that is more difficult to measure.” As a matter of fact, the increase in wages will result in a negative impact on employment.
A few companies such as Wise & Hammer of Hamilton have promised to pay their workers a living wage, which will allow the workers to live more comfortablely.
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