B.C. raises minimum wage by more than $1 an hour
British Columbia’s lowest paid workers are getting a pay hike.
The province is increasing minimum wage by more than a dollar an hour, starting Wednesday.
It’s rising to $16.75 per hour from $15.65.
The province says the change will affect about 150,000 workers across B.C.
However, the local business community says it’s an added expense it can’t afford.
“This decision and the significant minimum wage increase was made without consulting business. It was a huge surprise,” said Anita Huberman, CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade.
She calls the move “unacceptable.”
The wage hike applies to minimum-wage workers, resident caretakers, live-in home support workers, live-in camp leaders and hand-harvest workers.
The B.C. government says the increase reflects last year’s average annual inflation rate, which was nearly seven per cent.
“All they're going to do is push up the cost that we're all paying for our goods and services. So if we're trying to lower the cost, the inflation and we're trying to watch our economy, the last thing we need to be doing is be pouring fuel on the fire, like this does,” Cory Redekop, CEO of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce.
However, advocates like Living Wage for Families B.C. argue businesses should be paying their employees even more.
The living wage in Metro Vancouver has been estimated to be $24.08 an hour.
That’s the hourly amount that each of two working parents with two young children must earn to meet their basic expenses once government taxes, credits, deductions and subsidies are taken into account.
With a living wage, workers would earn $12,500 more than they would with the new minimum wage each year.
Approximately 300 employers across B.C. currently pay living wages.
“They do it not just because they see the moral reasons for paying a living wage, they also see the business benefits of it. Lower staff turnover, it helps with retention,” said Anastasia French, the provincial manager for Living Wage for Families B.C.
French says the participating employers range from small businesses, like cleaning companies, to bigger corporations.
She named the City of Victoria, ride-share company Modo and Vancity credit union as examples.
“A lot of businesses are telling me ‘Right now we're in a labor shortage.’ The research is actually showing it's a wage shortage,” said French.
B.C.’s minimum wage is now the second highest in the country, sitting two cents below the Yukon’s.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Prince William and wife Kate thank public for birthday messages for son Louis
Prince William and his wife Kate thanked the public for their messages which had been sent to mark the sixth birthday of their youngest son Louis on Tuesday.
She was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father. Then life dealt her a blow
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.
Quebec farmers have been protesting since December. Is anyone listening?
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
South Korean sentenced to 14 months in jail for killing 76 cats
South Korean man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats in one of the country's most gruesome cases of animal cruelty in recent years.