Minimum wage goes up in 6 provinces, but some advocates say workers need more
CBC
Canadian workers earning minimum wage in several provinces are now seeing an increase in their paycheques.
Six provinces — Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador — hiked their minimum wage effective last Saturday.
The flurry of increases come as the cost of living soars, with Canada's annual inflation rate reaching a nearly 40-year high in recent months.
The minimum wage is now $15.50 in Ontario, $13 in Saskatchewan, $13.50 in Manitoba, $13.60 in Nova Scotia, $13.75 in New Brunswick and $13.70 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Several provinces have additional pay hikes scheduled over the coming months and years, many in a bid to raise minimum wages to $15 an hour — if they haven't already reached that benchmark as is the case in Ontario, Alberta, B.C. and the three territories.
Manitoba plans to reach $15 by October 2023; Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador by April 1, 2024 and Saskatchewan by Oct. 1, 2024, according to the websites of each provincial government.
Labour advocates say the gains are long overdue.
But they say the long-championed goal of a $15 an hour across the country no longer goes far enough to address the affordability crisis.
"We've been calling for a $15 an hour minimum wage for so many years now it's no longer enough," said Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.
"It really needs to be $20 an hour or more when we look at inflation and the cost of food and housing."
Hailie Tattrie, an organizer with advocacy group Justice for Workers Nova Scotia, described the wage increase as "definitely needed" but echoed that it's "not enough."
"We see people struggling across the country," she said. "A little bit of a wage bump is not going to help."
Her organization used to be called the Fight for $15. But over the past year and a half the leadership realized that "$15 is just not enough anymore," she said.
Meanwhile, business groups say the minimum wage hikes come at a tough time as they struggle to recover from pandemic shutdowns.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a farewell message to Canadians Thursday as he marks his last full day in office.
The Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs says about 80 per cent of volunteer firefighters in the territory are wearing expired protective equipment, putting them in danger and in violation of occupational health and safety regulations when they respond to emergencies.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will be given a new portfolio in Mark Carney's cabinet, a source with knowledge of the decision told Radio-Canada.
The Alberta government has suspended a loan program at Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative, the province's largest cattle financing cooperative, after an inspection alleged a number of financial mismanagement and regulatory issues.
If you look up at the sky late, late Thursday in the Toronto area, there's a chance you'll be able to see a total lunar eclipse and what's called a blood moon.
When wintertime calls, go where it's warm.
Colby Leamon had lost a close family member, and was looking for a dog to provide emotional support.
The cost of a 24-pack of beer could increase $3 to $5 because of 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum exported to the United States, according to a craft brewery in northern Ontario.
Fire tore through a seafood processing plant in Cape John, N.S., on Wednesday night.
Another of New Brunswick's new municipal councils has become embroiled in drama and bitter conflict.
Tardiness is nothing new at Via Rail, but late arrivals are reaching historic levels in a key corridor since passenger trains have been forced to slow down at hundreds of rail crossings operated by CN Rail.
Walmart Canada will stop selling machetes — a type of weapon frequently used in violent crimes — in stores across the country, after Manitoba's government pressured the retailer to restrict online sales.
The parents of two 15-year-old girls at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon say they went to police and the school multiple times between June and August 2024 with concerns about escalating online threats from the student now accused of setting one of the girls on fire in a school hallway.