Premier Kathleen Wynne is expected to raise the minimum wage after a four-year freeze at $10.25,based on the recommendations of a provincial advisory panel to link minimum wage increases to inflation.
The minimum wage is expected to rise to $10.94 and be rounded to $11 based on the cumulative 6.7-percent inflation rate since 2010.
Many in the York community believe this is not enough. Steven Tufts, an associate geography professor at York who has written a book about labour market adjustments, says $14 is the number the Ontario government should be supporting.
“In my opinion, minimum wage should be tagged at a level so that anyone working 40 hours a week is above the poverty line,” says Tufts.
At $14, Ontarians would be working for salaries that are above the poverty line by 10 per cent, as opposed to now, when inflation has brought minimum-wage salaries to 19 per cent below the poverty line.
Although no official decision has been made, Wynne has already pointed out that changing minimum wage to $14 would be moving recklessly.
“I know that there’s a call for $14, [but] we have to move very carefully because this is about making sure that we retain and create jobs,” said Wynne in a press conference on January 27.
Owner of Qoola Frozen Yogurt Bar in York Lanes, Tony Padula, understands the importance of regulating minimum wages in Ontario, but believes a jump to $14 would be too much of an increase.
“It would have a real negative effect on the economy, and businesses,” says Padula. “Obviously employees would be happy, but on the flipside, they may not be able to find a job [if they made that increase].”
Tufts, however, doesn’t believe the $3.75 increase would have a negative effect on businesses. He says making the minimum wage $14 an hour would work because companies could raise their prices to accommodate the increase.
“Companies can—if they have to and don’t necessarily want to— raise their prices to accommodate the extra cost, and their competitors will do the same thing as well since it’s the law,” says Tufts. He also notes historically, minimum wage increases have never caused businesses to disappear.
Barerah Anjum, fourth-year criminology major at York, says a minimum wage of $11 will not make a significant difference in students’ lives.
“I don’t think it makes any difference because it’s not proportionate to the amount of increases and fluctuations in our lives,” says Anjum, noting that TTC fares and tuition are increasing all the time.
Wynne has stated that the official number for the increase will be released shortly.
“You’re not going to have to wait a long time because we have a pretty good idea of where we want to go, so very soon you will get that number,” Wynne stated.
Currently, Ontario’s minimum wage is higher than most provinces and territories in Canada, but still lower than those of Yukon and Nunavut, which are $10.54 and $11 respectively.
Victoria Alarcon
Assistant News Editor
