Wynne to ‘work with small businesses’
Premier doesn’t elaborate on how she would ease the impact of wage hike
Premier Kathleen Wynne is pledging to minimize the impact on small business of the looming increase to the minimum wage.
“We’re going to work with small businesses and in the fall, we’ll bring forward some initiatives that will help business to get through this transition,” Wynne told Newstalk 1010 on Wednesday.
“There are some other things that we can do to support small businesses through the transition,” the premier said without offering specifics.
As part of the government’s sweeping labour reforms, the $11.40-anhour minimum wage will rise to $14 on Jan. 1, and to $15 in 2019. That hike has many business groups worried.
“With a planned 32-per-cent increase in the minimum wage over the next 18 months, business owners are predicting a struggle to quickly generate the revenue required to match rising labour costs,” warned the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Ashley Challinor.
“This means that a significant number of businesses fear they cannot keep their doors open,” Challinor told an all-party legislative committee studying the reforms last Friday.
Loblaw chair and CEO Galen Weston Jr., predicted Wednesday the company’s labour costs could jump by $190 million next year.
“We are flagging a significant set of financial headwinds and the organization is mobilizing all of its resources to see whether or not it can close that gap,” he said.
At Friday’s legislative hearing at Queen’s Park, veteran restaurateur Fred Luk said small businesses simply cannot afford such a rapid rise in labour costs.
“My only concern is to survive past Jan. 1, 2018. How do I raise my menu prices to pay for this increase? I don’t know how to do it,” said Luk, owner of Fred’s Not Here on King St. West.
“Out of the 25 employees that I have, two employees are less-skilled employees and are still paid above minimum wage. The rest are paid above the new proposed minimum wage already. I’m paying my employees $15, $16, $17 right now,” he told the committee.
Even so, once the minimum wage rate jumps, Luk said his wage tab will jump.
“This is what small business is all about. You can make money one year; the next year, you might not, because of the razor-thin margins you run on.”
Small Business Minister Jeff Leal insisted the province is listening to such concerns and will act upon them as the legislation is fine-tuned this fall.
“As we always do, we have been meeting with small businesses and stakeholders like the Ontario Chamber of Commerce to listen directly to their suggestions and ideas about how we can further grow Ontario’s economy and build strong local economies,” said Leal, who is also agriculture minister.
“We were also actively monitoring the presentations being made to the standing committee on Bill 148 and will be undertaking a review of the submissions made for ideas on how we can better support small businesses,” he said.