‘We’re going to keep losing people’: Minimum wage debate heats up in Nova Scotia

Every year on October 1 provinces across Canada adjust their minimum wage pay scale.

But for some provinces that isn’t always a good thing.

According to a recent article by policy analyst Christine Saulnier, minimum wage workers in Nova Scotia are paid less than anywhere else in Canada.

“We can’t afford to continue moving the way we are, we need a different approach here and this ‘bottom-up’ approach, is the way to go,” Saulnier said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We can't afford to continue moving the way we are, we need a different approach here and this 'bottom-up' approach, is the way to go," Saulnier said.

She argues that unless minimum wage ‘significantly increases’ in Nova Scotia, ‘community members will continue to move to other provinces.’

READ MORE: Alberta minimum wage set to increase Sunday, becoming highest in Canada

Currently, experienced workers in Nova Scotia earn $10.85 per hour while inexperienced workers earn $10.35.

That is far behind Alberta and Ontario who are on-track to increase their minimum wage to $15 dollars per hour within the next few years.

Saulnier says Nova Scotia ‘needs’ to get on board with a similar plan.

“The increases that are being asked for are actually not radical, they’re actually fairly conservative. It’s a very simplistic look at the economy, the labour market and how businesses make decisions and what impacts those decisions,” Saulnier said.

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Those on the ‘business side’ of the debate feel a significant increase would impact job opportunities.

“If you are going to raise the minimum wage to a point where it’s not going to be sustainable for businesses, that’s going to result in job losses. And what we’re mostly concerned about is those job losses are going to effect people in that 15-24 year old cohort,” Jordi Morgan said, with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If you are going to raise the minimum wage to a point where it's not going to be sustainable for businesses, that's going to result in job losses. And what we're mostly concerned about is those job losses are going to effect people in that 15-24 year old cohort," Jordi Morgan said, with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

WATCH: The pros and cons of a $15 minimum wage

2:31 The pros and cons of a $15 minimum wage

Morgan argues ‘many employers’ pay above the minimum wage standard.

“These are entry level jobs, most small businesses pay over that wage anyway.” he said.

Saulnier says the minimum wage scale hasn’t increased to match inflation in the province for decades.

“When I looked at historically, I found that our minimum wage is worth less than it was in 1977. So in other words, if we even kept up with inflation, our minimum wage would be around $11.14 an hour,” she said.

Saulnier believes increasing the amount the workers make at the ‘bottom-level’ would actually stimulate the economy.

“If we are putting money into the pocket of those who are the lowest waged workers in our economy, they actually have this pent up demand, they actually need to spend it. They’re not going to save it and take it out of the economy, they’re going to spend it,” she said.