A new report from TD Bank appears to be a cold shower for those in Ontario fighting for an increase in the minimum wage in the province.
The provincial government announced in May it would increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan, 1, 2019 with a gradual series of increases from the current $11.40 an hour.
The TD Bank report warns the hike will cost the provincial economy 80,000 to 90,000 by 2020.
While noting that a hike could potentially generate more benefits to costs, the report warns against the speed of the implementation.
The minimum wage is set to increase to $11.60 an hour in October and to $14 an hour on Jan. 1, 2018.
Premier Kathleen Wynne dismissed the report and vowed to push ahead with the hike.
“I have been very clear that in a province as wealthy as Ontario, to have people who are working full time at maybe two jobs and still having to go to the food bank…is unacceptable,” she said.
The TD report follows an analysis two weeks ago by the Financial Accountability Office, the province’s financial watchdog, which estimated that more than 50,000 people could lose their jobs because of the increase.
That report said the number of minimum wage workers in the province would increase from just over 500,000 to 1.6 million in 2019 and would adversely affect teens and young adults.
With files from Canadian Press, CBC, Global News, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail
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