WATCH: Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Thursday the minimum wage in Ontario is increasing from $10.25 to $11 an hour. Alan Carter reports.
TORONTO – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Thursday a 75-cent increase in the province’s minimum wage from $10.25 to $11 an hour effective June 1.
The Liberals froze the minimum wage at $10.25 an hour in 2010, after increasing it annually from $6.85 in 2004.
The province also plans to introduce legislation to tie future increases to the rate of inflation, a key recommendation of an expert panel.
The new rate would be announced April 1 each year and take effect Oct. 1.
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The premier, making the announcement inside a Toronto coffee shop, said the wage hike won’t be included in the next provincial budget but instead be introduced as a separate piece of legislation.
Wynne told reporters the minimum wage could very well go up every year.
“Depending on the cost of living, absolutely,” she said.
Read More: Ontario’s new minimum wage: A 75-cent raise?
Labour Minister Yasir Naqvi says it was “unfair” for Ontario’s last Conservative government to freeze the minimum wage for eight years, but won’t say why it was okay for the Liberals to keep the same rate for four years.
“It ensures that a single mother who’s working full-time can now earn over the poverty line before taxes,” said Naqvi.
Someone working 35 hours a week, 50 weeks a year at this wage would make $19,250 while 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year would be $22,000. The Ontario low-income measure was $20,633 in 2011.
But the decision was met with criticism from groups saying it was too high and others saying it was too low.
Progressive Conservatives warned the 75-cent hike would result in reduced hours for shift workers and layoffs.
“If labour costs go up seven per cent, they’ve got to lay people off, putting them on unemployment,” PC critic Jane McKenna said.
Anti-poverty activists have been pushing the province for an immediate jump in the minimum wage to $14 an hour, but Naqvi said that would be “too much” for businesses to handle and could prompt some to cut jobs.
“Indexing it to the cost of living, it modernizes the way in which we determine minimum wage,” he said.
Tthe Canadian Restaurant and Food Services Association called the move “unnecessary” and “counter-productive.”
Meanwhile, the Canadian Federation of Students said an $11 wage was still “legislating poverty.”
“Going up with the cost of living every year is an important step forward, but a minimum wage that’s below the poverty line still puts workers behind,” said spokesperson Sonia Singh.
The Ontario Convenience Store Association admitted employers won’t like the increase but says it’s better than a jump to $14.
“Some of our members might be upset, but there’s an adjustment period,” said CEO Dave Bryans. “Many people get their first jobs at convenience stores or the fast food sector, and I believe it’s time that everybody had a fair wage.”
With files from The Canadian Press
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