The federal government, provinces and territories have reached a $4 billion agreement to top up wages of essential service workers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Details of the cost-sharing program are being finalized in collaboration with the provincial and territorial governments, Trudeau said.
The federal government will be providing $3 billion of the wage top-up while the provincial and territorial governments will have to come up with $1 billion, he added.
“It will be up to each province and territory to determine who exactly qualifies for this wage increase, but the bottom line is this: If you are risking your health to keep this country moving and you’re still making minimum wage – you deserve a raise,” Trudeau said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference at Rideau Cottage during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on Thursday, May 7, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The minority Liberal government announced last month that it plans to boost salaries of essential workers who make less than $2,500 a month. These include people working in long-term care facilities, custodial staff in hospitals and people working in the food industry.
Some provinces already have wage increase programs for essential service workers.
Last month, Quebec announced the establishment of an $890-million incentive program for roughly 600,000 low-income earners working full- or part-time in the essential services during the pandemic.
Through this four-month program, which is retroactive to March 15, low-income workers will receive $1,600 to ensure that their wage exceeds what the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) would provide.
The Saskatchewan government recently announced that employees making less than $2,500 a month while working in a field with vulnerable people are eligible for a wage top-up of $400 per month for 16 weeks. That includes long-term care homes, daycares and shelters.
Ontario also moved ahead with a plan to provide a $4-per-hour salary increase for front-line workers as part of a temporary pandemic payment to recognize their efforts in the fight against COVID-19.
“We have confidence that the provinces will determine exactly how best to help Canadians in this time,” Trudeau said. “The federal government wanted to be there and we know that offering this money to workers right across the country will make a big difference, and we trust the provinces to make sure that people who need it get this help.”
With files from The Canadian Press
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