Reaction to the Ontario government’s plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 has been decidedly mixed across the province.
Proponents of the plan, announced last Tuesday by Premier Kathleen Wynne, say it will help the province’s most vulnerable workers and create better jobs.
Opponents counter that the move will result in layoffs, fewer jobs and increased costs for all consumers.
According to Statistics Canada, about 540,000 people – most of them women – earn minimum wage in Ontario, representing about 9% of the province’s workforce.
The Liberals have proposed increasing the province’s minimum wage, currently set at $11.40 per hour, to $14 on Jan. 1 and to $15 on Jan. 1, 2019.
Thereafter the wage will be adjusted annually according to the rate of inflation.
“Millions of workers in Ontario are finding it almost impossible to support their families on a minimum wage that just doesn’t go far enough,” Wynne stated in a press release announcing the plan.
“It’s time this rate reflected the reality of people’s lives. Raising the minimum wage is about creating a fairer, more equal society whe everyone gets to share in our province’s economic growth.”
Other labour reforms expected to be approved this fall with the passage of the government’s Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, include:
– equal pay for part-time and full-time workers doing the same job,
– paid emergency leave days for every worker;
– expanded personal emergency leave;
– a uniform approach to employee scheduling; and
– increasing the minimum annual paid vacation from two weeks to three weeks (after five years at a job).
The changes are based on the results of the government-commissioned report entitled the Changing Workplaces Review, released in May.
Though the report did not examine the minimum wage, Wynne said raising the threshold to $15 will help address some of the issues documented in the report that have left many Ontario workers vulnerable, including fewer union jobs, a shrinking manufacturing sector and new technology.
Politicians offer input
“These needed legislative changes can help ensure every hard-working person in our province has the chance to reach their full potential,” said Kevin Flynn, Minister of Labour.
“Fairness and decency must continue to be the defining values of our workplaces. No person in Ontario should ever feel like they can’t get ahead.”
However, Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott, said the Ontario PC party is concerned about the impact the Liberals’ minimum wage proposal could have on small businesses, including job losses and reduced work hours.
“An increased minimum wage doesn’t help if you don’t have a job the next day,” said Arnott.
He called on the government to release a cost-benefit analysis that demonstrates how the changes “will create new jobs and strengthen the economy.”
The province’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs will host public meetings on the issue over the next three months.
Arnott said anyone interested in appearing before the committee can contact clerk Eric Rennie at 416-325-3506.
“I would also appreciate receiving everyone’s views on these important issues,” he added.
Local reaction
David Sharpe, president of the Mount Forest Chamber of Commerce, said the move to a $15 minimum wage will have a greater impact in Wellington County than it will in places like the GTA.
“I think it’s a policy that’s not very well designed for the economic conditions around the province,” he told the Advertiser.
In some areas of the county, particularly in the north, the cost of living is lower than in more populous areas and thus salary expectations are lower.
But the minimum wage increase, Sharpe said, could force those who feel they are currently offering “a good wage” at $15 per hour to increase wages to continue to attract workers.
Businesses will have to increase prices to generate the revenue required to cover increasing costs for wages, he added.
“There’s just no way around it,” Sharpe said.
Locally he does not foresee the large layoffs that some have said could result from the proposed minimum wage increase. After all, local businesses aren’t employing extra people, he said.
The main impact, Sharpe contends, will be in increased prices, notably in industries that have large numbers of part-time or seasonal employees, such as restaurants and golf courses.
“It’s going to create inflation on those things we all like to enjoy,” he said.
Sharpe said the Mount Forest chamber is backing the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s call for the government to examine the economic impact of the changes proposed in the legislation.
“There’s no real evidence-based decision making going on here,” he said of the province’s proposal.
Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce president Kira Bailey did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
