[Canada] Experts say Ontario's October minimum wage hike doesn’t go far enough

On October 1, Ontario's hourly minimum wage will increase by 40 cents, a hike of $835 a year for minimum wage workers who work 40 hours per week, Yahoo reports.

However, experts believe that the new wage is still insufficient.

Craig Pickthorne - director of communications for the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) - reportedly told CBC Toronto it’s still not enough.

"There is simply no place in the province where you can work full-time at a minimum wage job even after the increase," he said.

The provincial government determines the annual minimum wage increase based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI). This year, that means a 2.4 per cent bump, making Ontario's minimum wage the second-highest provincial rate in Canada after British Columbia's, which rose to $17.85 per hour in June. 

In a press release earlier this year, the government stated that it uses the CPI because it's "a measure of inflation that represents changes in prices experienced by Ontario consumers."

But Mr Pickthorne explained that the CPI only measures a fraction of the costs Ontario residents actually pay.

"They're using one statistical tool to inform what is largely a political decision," he said. "So what they're not considering is all the real costs that people have to deal with, including shelter costs

Source: Yahoo

(Quotes via original reporting)

On October 1, Ontario's hourly minimum wage will increase by 40 cents, a hike of $835 a year for minimum wage workers who work 40 hours per week, Yahoo reports.

However, experts believe that the new wage is still insufficient.

Craig Pickthorne - director of communications for the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) - reportedly told CBC Toronto it’s still not enough.

"There is simply no place in the province where you can work full-time at a minimum wage job even after the increase," he said.

The provincial government determines the annual minimum wage increase based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI). This year, that means a 2.4 per cent bump, making Ontario's minimum wage the second-highest provincial rate in Canada after British Columbia's, which rose to $17.85 per hour in June. 

In a press release earlier this year, the government stated that it uses the CPI because it's "a measure of inflation that represents changes in prices experienced by Ontario consumers."

But Mr Pickthorne explained that the CPI only measures a fraction of the costs Ontario residents actually pay.

"They're using one statistical tool to inform what is largely a political decision," he said. "So what they're not considering is all the real costs that people have to deal with, including shelter costs

Source: Yahoo

(Quotes via original reporting)