Canadian Payroll Reporter

6 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017 News So far, Alberta is the only province in Canada to adopt a $15 minimum wage. The province's NDP govern- ment confirmed last year that it would raise the minimum wage rate, now at $12.20 an hour, to $15 on Oct. 1, 2018. Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray said a $15 mini- mum wage would help lower poverty rates and reduce the burden on social support pro- grams. "We know that raising that minimum wage is going to support real families, families that are currently having to go to the food bank to support them- selves," Gray told the provincial legislature. "Albertans who work full time should be able to live with dignity, and that means being able to af- ford rent, food and transporta- tion for their families," she added. Irene Lanzinger, president of the BC Federation of Labour, said she would like to see B.C. follow Alberta's lead, but adds that she is not optimistic that the current government will do that. The B.C. government has committed to tying minimum wage increases to the consumer price index, and for 2016 and 2017, to also raising the rate a little more to account for strong economic growth. "They have a plan in place to have us at $11.25 by this Sep- tember. I don't expect anything more from them on that front," said Lanzinger. "Anything less than $15, you are either very close to the poverty line or be- low it," she adds. The federation began push- ing for a $15 minimum wage two years ago. While it has not been successful so far in convinc- ing the provincial government to adopt a $15 minimum wage, Lanzinger said the organization has public support. She notes that a recent poll the federation conducted found that 75 per cent of British Columbians agree with a $15 minimum wage. She added that this support could be important in the prov- ince's May 9 election, especially with the opposition NDP com- mitting to a $15 wage rate. The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) is also campaign- ing for a move to $15. It has partnered with an organization called Fight for $15 and Fairness to organize rallies in the prov- ince. During provincial govern- ment pre-budget meetings in January, the OFL called on the government to raise the mini- mum wage to $15 for all workers, with no exemptions. To date, the government has not said whether it plans to raise the minimum wage rate beyond making annual indexation ad- justments or eliminate any ex- emptions. In Quebec, proponents of a $15 minimum wage say they will continue to campaign for it de- spite the provincial government recently rejecting the idea in fa- vour of a four-year plan to grad- ually raise the general minimum wage rate from $10.75 an hour to $12.45 by 2020. The government will begin the phase-in on May 1 by raising the general minimum wage rate to $11.25 an hour. Quebec La- bour Minister Dominique Vien said the phased-in minimum wage hike will eventually put the minimum wage at 50 per cent of the average wage in the province. "The progressiveness and the predictability of the increase will allow the government of Que- bec to improve the purchasing power of employees, while re- specting the capacity of Quebec businesses to pay," she said. Proponents of a $15 minimum wage do not think the govern- ment's increases go far enough. "The announced increase is clearly insufficient and indecent for people working at minimum wage," said François Vaudreuil, president of the Centrale des syndicats démocratiques, a la- bour union in Quebec. Business groups, however, said they were pleased that the government rejected the $15 proposal. "We all agree on the need to alleviate poverty and help those in need; however, an increase of nearly 40 per cent to the mini- mum wage, in a short time frame, is not the most effective solution for workers or employers," said the Canadian Federation of Inde- pendent Business. "Requiring business owners to increase the wages of their least experienced employees by nearly 40 per cent would put immense pressure on them to do the same for their more se- nior staff. With a profit margin of barely three per cent, for ex- ample, the proprietor of a re- gional inn, corner restaurant or small bakery would either have to slash employee work hours, significantly raise prices or even cut jobs just to keep their busi- ness going," it added. The Montreal Economic In- stitute (MEI), an independent think tank, warned the govern- ment that a rapid increase in the minimum wage to $15 could hurt workers in the province's rural areas, where the economy is not as strong. "In the 25 most-affected RCMs (regional county municipalities), between 56 per cent and 41 per cent of the workforce would be at risk," said Mathieu Bédard, an economist at the MEI, in a re- cent report. "Low-income adult workers in rural regions would be the primary victims of this in- crease," he added. Instead of high minimum wage rates, business organiza- tions have generally advised gov- ernments to raise the basic per- sonal amount used to calculate income tax deductions, saying it would put more money in work- ers' pockets while not hurting businesses or jobs. In New Brunswick, an organi- zation called the Common Front for Social Justice Inc., wants the provincial government to move to a $15 minimum wage. Next month, the New Bruns- wick government will raise the minimum wage from $10.65 an hour to $11.00. It is also consid- ering changing the method it uses to set the minimum wage by possibly tying it to the con- sumer price index. So far, the government has not indicated an interest in moving to a $15 minimum wage. In Nova Scotia, the provincial NDP has tabled a private mem- ber's bill that, if passed, would require the government to grad- ually raise the hourly minimum wage rate to $15 by 2019. The minimum wage rate is currently $10.70 an hour ($10.20 for those with under three months' expe- rience). On April 1, it will rise to $10.85 ($10.35 for inexperienced workers). So far, the bill has only passed first reading and, as a private member's bill, may never be- come law. Citing research showing that 60 per cent of minimum wage workers in Canada are over 24 years old, NDP MLA Marian Mancini said critics who claim minimum wage increases mostly benefit teenagers are wrong. She also presented research she said shows that any job losses from higher minimum wage rates would be limited to teens and small numbers of young adults. "As many economists have pointed out, people at the bot- tom of the income spectrum, because they earn so little, need to spend all of the money they earn. When their salaries are increased, they tend to spend more money, thus boosting the economy," she added. So far, the government has re- jected her argument, adding that affordable housing, accessible daycare and public education would be more beneficial. Despite the unwillingness of provincial governments beyond Alberta to adopt a $15 minimum wage, activists say they will keep campaigning for it. Achieving the milestone would bring them a step closer to their ultimate goal of ensuring all workers are paid at least a liv- ing wage, which is a rate of pay high enough to cover basic living expenses in a particular commu- nity. For Toronto, the living wage was estimated to be $18.52 in 2015. For Vancouver, Lanzinger said it is $20.68. "I would love to have our mini- mum wage at the living wage, but we just felt that there were some steps along the way to that and the $15 minimum wage was one of them," she said. Hike could put 'immense pressure' on businesses from CAMPAIGN on page 1 March 2017 | CPR Businesses favour raising basic personal amounts used to calculate income tax deductions.

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