The announcement of a higher minimum wage in Canada’s most populous province of Ontario is good news, but it’s still not enough to get workers above the poverty line, says the province’s labour federation.
On Thursday, the Liberal government of Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the province’s minimum wage would rise from $10.25 an hour to $11 as of June 1. The government has also announced it will introduce legislation to tie future increases to the rate of inflation.
Sid Ryan, the president of the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), welcomed the increase but said “an $11 minimum wage will still mean that low-wage workers have to rely on taxpayer support, not fair wages, to escape the poverty trap.”
The federation, as well as other groups, had called on the government to increase the minimum wage to $14 an hour.
RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda spoke to Joel Duff, the OFL’s Communications Director, about the importance of raising minimum wages.
ListenMore information:
Toronto Star – Ontario minimum wage goes up June 1 to $11 – here
Ontario Federation of Labour press release – Inflationary increases will protect minimum wage earners from falling behind, but $11 is not enough to work their way out of poverty – here
Ontario Ministry of Labour – 2014 Minimum Wage Advisory Panel Report – here
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Ask Mr. Ryan where does the minimum wage money come from and who pays for it. U cannot keep raising taxes to pay for social initiatives. U need to get the Ontario economy going and get people back to work. Minimum wage service jobs does not drive the economy. Ontario is sinking and people in this province are blind to this. When you elect a government that literally blew billions of dollars down the drain and they get re-elected that saids it all about the mentality in this province.