N.S. affordability crisis deepens as gap between living wage, minimum wage grows: report
Global News
A new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the living wage in Halifax is $26.50, over $11 more than the minimum wage.
A new report indicates Nova Scotia’s minimum wage is getting increasingly more difficult for people to live on, as the rising cost of basic necessities continues to outpace pay increases.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ annual living wage report calculates what two adults working full-time would have to earn to support two children and have a decent quality of life.
The living wage calculations reflect costs in June 2023, and take into account government transfers added to the family’s income, like child benefits, as well as deductions subtracted, like taxes and EI premiums.
“The wage should be enough for the family to avoid severe financial stress, support the healthy development of their children, and participate in their social, civic, and cultural communities,” the report said.
The report, released Thursday, said the living wage is $7.85 to $11.59 higher than what the minimum wage will be next month.
“Working people deserve to work to live, not just live to work,” the report said. “The cost of living is making that even harder.”
According to the report, the living wage is now $26.50 in the Halifax area, $25.40 for the Annapolis Valley, $25.05 for southern Nova Scotia, $24.30 for northern Nova Scotia, and $22.85 for Cape Breton.
On average, those numbers are 14 per cent higher than last year’s living wage calculations.
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