Too much or not enough? N.W.T. minimum wage hike draws criticism on both sides

The government of the Northwest Territories is raising the minimum wage from $15.20 per hour to $16.05 per hour. 

The change is set to take effect this September, and is meant to take into account the cost of living. 

One business owner said even with the wage hike  — the minimum wage is just not enough money. 

"It makes a huge difference to the quality of life when you are paid closer to a livable wage," said Jennifer Baerg Steyn, the owner of the Book Cellar, a bookstore in Yellowknife. She earned minimum wage as a student, and now she makes sure all her employees make more than minimum wage. 

"It's less stress, it means my employees hopefully know that their bills are covered and that they're respected," she said. 

"If that means that I have to make sacrifices, then so be it. But it's important to me that my staff understands that they are valued."

The increase is based on the consumer price index, and it will be adjusted annually based on the index and the hourly wages earned in the territory, the N.W.T. government said in a news release issued Monday.

Suzette Montreuil, a member of the Yellowknife social justice coalition Alternatives North, echoed the sentiment that the wage increase isn't enough.

"It's nowhere near a living wage," she said. 

Montreuil said Alternatives North hired an economist last year and found the living wage in Yellowknife is $23.28 as of 2022. She described living wage as the bare bones minimum that employees would need to cover things like food, clothing, rent and transportation.

Montreuil said the government should take measures to implement a living wage, and to also have a guaranteed basic income so people will have enough money to live with dignity. 

James O'Connor, the executive director of the NWT Chamber of Commerce, says the increase to minimum wage isn't welcomed by the private sector. 

"Any extra burden on the private sector is just not helpful right now," he said. 

O'Connor said employers and the economy have been negatively affected by the pandemic, flooding and wildfires — with some businesses hanging on by their fingernails. He said businesses that do employ minimum wage workers will not appreciate having to pay anything extra.