It may be April Fools’ Day, but B.C.’s lagging minimum wage is no joke.
That was the message from labour advocates as the province’s $10.45 minimum wage was surpassed by New Brunswick’s on Friday, making it the lowest in Canada.
“There are hundreds of thousands of workers in this province who work full time and live in poverty, and it’s time our government did something about that,” said Irene Lanzinger, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour.
Advocates call B.C.’s low wage particularly jarring with California and New York poised to increase their minimums to $15 U.S. an hour, the equivalent of almost $20 Canadian.
Lanzniger said the province should follow suit and ensure all employed British Columbians make $15, which is more than 509,000 of them currently earn. The B.C. Federation of Labour said of that group, 13 per cent are at least 55 years old, and 68 per cent do not live with their parents.
The highest minimum wage in Canada is currently Nunavut’s $13 an hour, followed by $12.50 in the Northwest Territories. Ontario’s minimum is third highest at $11.25, which is being hiked by 15 cents in October.
New Brunswick’s minimum wage bump this week was a modest 35 cents, which brought it up to $10.65. The B.C. government is expected to increase its minimum by about 30 cents in September, and recently hinted that the strength of the economy could allow for a more substantial hike.
The approach of increasing “tiny amounts” is what left B.C. in last place, Lanzinger said, and needs to end.
According to an Insights Wes poll commissioned by the B.C. Federation of Labour earlier this month, a full 76 per cent of people in the province support a $15 per hour minimum.
The vast majority of British Columbians also agree that people making minimum wage should be able to live above the poverty line, the poll found.
Insights West’s survey was conducted online from March 13 to March 16 among 811 B.C. adult panel members. Polls of that size have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
