
Sask.'s minimum wage rises to $14/hour, but continues to be the lowest in Canada
CBC
The minimum wage in Saskatchewan increases to $14 from $13 on Sunday, but is still the lowest in Canada.
Some experts and minimum wage earners say it will not be nearly sufficient as inflation fuels rising costs of living.
"I don't think it's enough. I've got a family, I've got kids and grandkids. They all depend on me and working minimum wage for 22 hours a week is not enough," Sarah Marr, who works at Taco Bell in Saskatoon, said.
Marr shares a $1,600-per-month home with five other people and said she is "scrambling every single month," borrowing money from her mother, roommates or friends to pay bills.
"I'm like a working poor person. Right now, I'm behind by almost a month and a half on my rent. I've got utility bills that I can't afford and no groceries in my house."
She said she is left with hardly $10 at the end of the month. She either wants the rents to go down or minimum wages to increase – a demand most people CBC spoke to in Saskatoon echoed.
Marr said she has already lost power at her place twice and is often left in a conundrum to either purchase groceries or pay bills.
"Canada is the land of the free and the friendly, but I feel like I'm a slave. I have to work every day just to pay my bills," she said with tears in her eyes.
"I can't send money to my son back home or buy my grandkids birthday presents. Three Christmases in a row, my son hasn't gotten anything from me because we can't afford anything."
She said the provincial government should "finally open their eyes" to the plight of people and move away from having the lowest minimum wage in Canada.
"I shouldn't be struggling with where my next meal is coming from," she said.
Maksudur Raahman, who works 40 to 50 hours a week for minimum wage at two restaurants, agreed. He said he had only had one weekend off in the past month.
The 38-year-old moved to Saskatoon from Bangladesh in March with his wife and three-year-old daughter for a better quality of life.
"But if you are on the minimum wage, then you don't have that quality of life. I don't even have enough time to spend with my kid. It's hard," he said.