Ontario's 10-cent increase in minimum wage called 'insult' to workers
CBC
The minimum wage in Ontario goes up by 10 cents an hour on Friday, an increase that critics are dismissing as so little that it's basically meaningless.
Legislation from Premier Doug Ford's government called the Making Ontario Open for Business Act sets the terms for the 10-cent increase. Under that bill, the minimum wage rises on Oct. 1 by the provincial rate of inflation during the previous calendar year.
The change ticks Ontario's general minimum wage upward to $14.35 per hour. The minimum wage rates for students under 18, and for workers who serve alcohol and receive tips, are also going up by a dime, to $13.50 and $12.55 respectively.
Brady Hakker, who earns minimum wage in hs job stocking shelves at a grocery store in Windsor, is greeting the 10-cent pay hike with derision.
"I'm almost a little insulted, if I'm being honest," said Hakker in an interview. "That's not going to make any real difference for anyone, especially considering how prices have been going up over the last little while."
Hakker is paying his way through his studies to become a paralegal at St. Clair College. The size of the minimum wage increase has him particularly vexed at Ford.
"Considering his government spent a good solid chunk of this pandemic touting grocery store workers and other essential workers as absolute heroes, how dare he?" Hakker said.
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