Minimum wage rising 80 cents in next two years

B.C.’s minimum wage, currently the lowest in Canada, will increase by 40 cents to $10.85 effective Sept. 15, Premier Christy Clark announced. The wage will increase a further 40 cents next year, taking the hourly rate to $11.25 by Sept. 15, 2017.

The change will move B.C. to the middle of the pack among provinces. Ontario currently has the highest provincial minimum wage at $11.25, followed by Alberta at $11.20 and Manitoba at $11.00.

“We have focused on growing the economy faster than we’re growing government,” Clark said. “That’s been the plan. The plan is working and it is now time to start paying dividends to the people of British Columbia, people in every corner of this province, including people who live on minimum wage.”

The province previously tied the minimum wage to increases in the Consumer Price Index, but that translated into just a 10-cent hike this year, so the province boosted it another 30 cents.

NDP MLA Shane Simpson said the move amounted to “damage control” by a Liberal government that will seek re-election a year from now. “What the premier did today was a response to being embarrassed by the fact that we were last,” he said.

Simpson said the extra 30 cents on top of the expected 10-cent inflationary increase will do little for minimum-wage workers. “Thirty cents of new money,” he said. “Think about that in British Columbia with the cost of living in this province and how much does that really do for people?”

The increase was panned by labour and business groups. The B.C. Federation of Labour said the wage hike falls well short of what is needed.

“We need a minimum wage that lifts workers out of poverty and this one keeps them there,” said president Irene Lanzinger. She said the federation will continue to press for a $15-minimum wage.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said the “higher than expected” wage increase will hurt small business. “Employers are going to have to make adjustments and at the end of the day the very people they’re trying to help won’t be any better off,” said vice-president Richard Truscott.

Jobs Minister Shirley Bond said government anticipated the criticism. “Any time you make an adjustment to the minimum wage you know that it is a balancing act,” she said. “It is about making sure we take care of those who earn the minimum wage, but also taking care of the businesses who create jobs in British Columbia.”