Wages vs. inflation: As costs rise, living wage advocates hope to see B.C. better address affordability
With Canada’s inflation rate hitting a 31-year high last month, people are paying a lot more for many basic needs including food and shelter, and wages have not kept up.
While B.C.’s minimum wage is set to rise next month, some living wage advocates want to see the province do more to address affordability.
For over two years now, Surrey-based power washing and cleaning company Revive Services has been a certified living wage employer. Owner and founder David Moerman said it’s helped them with recruiting and retaining employees.
“It’s getting more expensive to live here as the weeks go by, so as a business owner, I want to ensure my team is taken care of, they can pay for their fuel, pay for their groceries,” he said of his 10-person team. “If they’re not happy and taken care of outside of work, they’re not going to be the best version of themself at work, so I want to make sure they’re not stressed out financially.”
Last month, Canada’s inflation rate rose to 6.8 percent from the previous April, while average hourly wages rose 3.3 percent year over year, according to Statistics Canada.
Living Wage for Families B.C. organizer Anastasia French says the current living wage calculated for Metro Vancouver is $20.52 an hour.
“It takes into account all of the costs that a family of four has, so that’s the cost of shelter, the cost of food, child care, really the essentials,” she said.
“We’ve now nearly got 400 living wage employers across the province, which has doubled within the two years of the pandemic.”
B.C.’s minimum wage is set to rise to $15.65 cents an hour on June 1, which is the highest rate among the provinces. The increase is based on last year’s average annual inflation rate.
“On one level, any increase to the minimum wage is good,” French said. “But there is still that significant gap between the minimum wage and the living wage.”
The province has been gathering feedback on that gap, and Labour Minister Harry Bains is now waiting on a report from the Fair Wages Commission, which he said had been delayed by the pandemic.
“It should be in my hands soon,” Bains said. “And I think we will learn from that report what do we do between the living wage and the minimum wage.”
Senior policy analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business Jairo Yunis said imposing more costs on small businesses could end up hurting employment.
“We acknowledge the cost of living in B.C. has skyrocketed in the last few years, but there are better ways to tackle the affordability crisis that don’t involve piling up all these costs to small businesses,” he said. “What the government can do to tackle inflation and tackle the affordability crisis should be to ease some of the supply side constraints that are partially fuelling the problem especially for instance in energy markets and housing.”
Yunis added just 46 per cent of small businesses in the province are back at their normal revenue level since the pandemic, “so we’re not out of the woods yet.”
French said her group also wants to see the government do more to address overall affordability, so that at some point the living wage could potentially come down.
“We know that the majority of families that are living in poverty in B.C. and across Canada are working, and they’re working really, really hard to try and make ends meet,” she said.
“Maybe you can’t reach all the way to the living wage right now…maybe bring your staff up slightly this year and then slightly more next year. Also it’s worth stressing that the living wage can be made up of both base wage and any additional benefits that you offer. So if you have a health and dental plan, that lowers your living wage by about a dollar an hour…if you offer any additional paid time off beyond the statutory minimums or any additional paid sick leave beyond the five days or vacation beyond the ten days, that can go towards your living wage requirements.”
French said their next living wage calculation will be made in November. Employers that are
part of the program have six months to bring workers up to the latest level in order to be certified.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William says wife Kate is 'doing well'
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
BREAKING Canadian Blood Services apologizes to LGBTQ2S+ community for discriminatory blood donation policy
Canadian Blood Services issued an apology on Friday to the LGBTQ2S+ community for what it now admits was a harmful and discriminatory blood donation policy that prevented sexually active men who have sex with men and some trans people from donating blood and plasma.
BREAKING Toronto mayor hints that WNBA team is coming to the city, marking the first franchise in Canada
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says that she is hopeful an announcement could be made soon amid multiple reports that a WNBA team is coming to Toronto in 2026.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
Ontario coroner to investigate death of man who suffered cardiac arrest while waiting in ER
A provincial coroner will be investigating the death of 68-year-old David Lippert, who suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting in a crowded emergency room in Kitchener, Ont.
'Irate male' assaulted Newfoundland officers with block of cheese, police say
Police in Newfoundland say patrol officers were assaulted Thursday by a "very irate male" wielding a block of cheese.
Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.