Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER April 3, 2017 6 NEWS LeNoury Law Proactive Advice to Management Employment Lawyer of The Year James LeNoury B.A. (Hons) M.A. LL.B 416-926-1107 • Toll Free 1-877-926-1107 • lenourylaw.com HR associations take on CPHR branding Provinces such as Manitoba, Saskatchewan take on new names, with more to follow BY SARAH DOBSON SEVER AL HR associations across Canada have changed their names to reflect their mem- bership in the Chartered Profes- sionals in Human Resources of Canada (CPHR Canada). e Human Resource Manage- ment Association is now known as CPHR BC & YK, while the Human Resource Management Association of Manitoba is now CPHR Manitoba, the Saskatch- ewan Association of Human Resource Professionals is CPHR Saskatchewan and the Human Resources Professionals of New- foundland & Labrador is CPHR Newfoundland & Labrador. "We see this as another great stride in our shared mission to advance the HR profession here in British Columbia, across Canada and internationally," said Anthony Ariganello, president and CEO of CPHR BC & YK. "CPHR BC & YK and our col- leagues across Canada have estab- lished a clear, strong and consis- tent CPHR designation and have positioned it for the future within CPHR Canada." Alberta also plans to take on the new name, once it has member- ship approval, said Peter Dugan- dzic, CEO of the Human Resourc- es Institute of Alberta (HRIA). "We're actually very excited about being able to use the CPHR Alberta name," he said. "We have bylaws that stipulate that with respect to any name change, we need membership approval, so we've been working with our members in terms of soliciting feedback." e vote is scheduled for April 19 and the Alberta association is "very much encouraged by posi- tive feedback to date — it's almost unanimous with respect to sup- port to change the name," said Dugandzic. "What's important to our mem- bers is we're continuing to build on the strong foundation that's been in place for many years, so we're not replacing the code of ethics and standards that have been in place, which have been the guiding principles for HRIA — we're building under the new brand CPHR Alberta." "What entices our members is we'll have one association, one voice, one vision and one brand, and that's an exciting time for not only HR practitioners in Alberta but HR practitioners across the country," he said, adding the HR associations for Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick are also planning to debut new names after member- ship approval. Quebec's association, the Or- dre des conseillers en ressources humaines (CRHA), will retain its name in French but use CPHR in English, according to its commu- nications advisor, Jessica Beauplat. CPHR Canada represents 27,000 members in the HR profes- sion across nine provinces (On- tario is not a member) and three territories in Canada. Established in 1994 as the Canadian Coun- cil of Human Resources Asso- ciations (CCHRA), it took on the new name and designation CPHR in the fall of 2016. Push for $15 minimum wage continues But opponents maintain increase would put 'immense pressure' on employers BY SHEILA BRAWN WORKERS' RIGHTS activ- ists across Canada are continu- ing to push for a $15-per-hour minimum wage, despite little interest so far from provincial governments. Labour unions and anti-poverty activists in British Columbia, On- tario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have launched cam- paigns calling on the governments to raise the minimum wage rate to at least $15. To date, all of the governments have refused to do so or have re- mained silent on the issue. So far, Alberta is the only prov- ince in Canada to adopt a $15 minimum wage. e province's NDP government confirmed last year it would raise the minimum wage rate, now at $12.20 per hour, to $15 on Oct. 1, 2018. A $15 minimum wage would help lower poverty rates and re- duce the burden on social support programs, said Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray. "Albertans who work full time should be able to live with dignity, and that means being able to af- ford rent, food and transportation for their families." Irene Lanzinger, president of the BC Federation of Labour, said she would like to see B.C. follow Alberta's lead, but said she is not optimistic the current govern- ment will do that. e B.C. gov- ernment 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. "ey have a plan in place to have us at $11.25 by this Septem- ber. 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 below it." e BC Federation of Labour began pushing for a $15 minimum wage two years ago. While it has not been successful so far, the organization has public support, she said, citing a recent poll it con- ducted that found 75 per cent of British Columbians agree with a $15 minimum wage. is support could be impor- tant in the province's May 9 elec- tion, especially with the opposi- tion NDP committing to a $15 wage rate, said Lanzinger. e Ontario Federation of La- bour (OFL) is also campaigning for a move to $15. It has partnered with an organization called Fight for $15 and Fairness to organize rallies in the province. During provincial government pre-budget meetings in January, the OFL called on the govern- ment to raise the minimum wage to $15 for all workers, with no exemptions. To date, the Ontario govern- ment has not said whether it plans to raise the minimum wage rate beyond making annual index- ation adjustments or eliminate any exemptions. In Quebec, proponents of a $15 minimum wage say they will continue to campaign for it, de- spite the provincial government rejecting the idea in favour of a four-year plan to gradually raise the general minimum wage rate from $10.75 per hour to $12.45 by 2020. e government will begin the phase-in on May 1 by raising the general minimum wage rate to $11.25 per hour. Quebec Labour Minister Dominique Vien said the hike will eventually put the mini- mum wage at 50 per cent of the average wage in the province. "e progressiveness and the predictability of the increase will allow the government of Quebec to improve the purchasing power of employees, while respecting 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. Business groups, however, said they were pleased Quebec reject- ed 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 Indepen- dent 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 senior staff. With a profit margin of barely three per cent, for example, the proprietor of a regional inn, corner restau- rant or small bakery would ei- ther have to slash employee work hours, significantly raise prices or even cut jobs just to keep their business going." e Montreal Economic Insti- tute, an independent think tank, warned the Quebec government that a rapid increase in the mini- mum wage to $15 could hurt workers in the province's rural areas, where the economy is not as strong, noting more than half of the workforce could be at risk. Instead of high minimum wage rates, business organizations have generally advised governments to raise the basic personal amount used to calculate income tax de- ductions, saying it would put more money in workers' pockets while not hurting businesses or jobs. In New Brunswick, an organi- zation called the Common Front for Social Justice also 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 per hour to $11. It is also considering changing the method it uses to set the minimum wage by possi- bly tying it to the consumer price index, but hasn't indicated an interest in moving to a $15 mini- mum wage. In Nova Scotia, the provincial NDP has tabled a private member's bill that, if passed, would require the government to gradually raise the hourly minimum wage rate to $15 by 2019. e minimum wage rate is currently $10.70 per hour ($10.20 for those with under three months' experience). On April 1, it will rise to $10.85 ($10.35 for inex- perienced workers). So far, the bill has only passed first reading and, as a private mem- ber's bill, may never become law. Citing research showing that 60 per cent of minimum wage work- ers 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 that shows that any job losses from higher minimum wage rates would be limited to teens and small num- bers of young adults, she said. "As many economists have pointed out, people at the bottom 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." 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 work- ers are paid at least a living wage, which is a rate of pay high enough to cover basic living expenses in a particular community. For Toronto, the living wage was estimated to be $18.52 in 2015. For Vancouver, it is $20.68, said Lanzinger. "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." Sheila Brawn is the editor of Canadian Payroll Reporter. "We all agree on the need to alleviate poverty; however, an increase of nearly 40 per cent is not the most effective solution."

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