The Ontario government announced this week that the minimum wage will increase by 50 cents to $15.50 per hour starting October, after the provincial election.
The minimum wage is currently at $15 per hour, after rising from $14.35 per hour in January of this year.
The planned wage increase will help “help workers keep up with rising inflation,” Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said on Tuesday.
“The decision is an acknowledgement that current wages are too low. Most firms will find themselves forced to raise wages with or without a new government policy if they want people to work for them,” economist Evelyn Forget said on Wednesday.
Forget told Humber News that although increases in the minimum wage are a good thing, it is still not enough to address the problem of low incomes.
“Many families with low incomes have no one working, either because of a disability or for some other reason. These families need other policies, such as a basic income,” said Forget, who is a professor at the University of Manitoba .
“Many minimum wage workers are not living in poverty. Many, although certainly not all, are youth living at home with their parents. Their labour must be fairly paid and acknowledged, but not because they are living in poverty.”
The Ontario government said the minimum wage raise is tied to the Ontario Consumer Price Index.
The announcement also said that the government, which is heading into a general election in June, would make an announcement every year about the planned minimum wage increase.
“For workers out there, they can know under Premier Ford that the minimum wage is going to go up every October,” McNaughton said.
After being elected in 2018, Doug Ford previously cancelled a minimum wage increase of $15.
Humber Supply Chain Management student Angelo Crupi said minimum wage won’t make a lot of difference to him, but he said it will help people with low incomes who need more help.
“Things are hard for workers, but the minimum wage doesn’t fix everything. Most people are already making more than the minimum wage, so the government should help workers by creating more jobs and helping people find jobs,” he said.
Business Management student Khushi Prajapati said the minimum wage announcement came at a great time and will help people struggling with the increased gas prices.
“The cost of gas is increasing, so I think there should be an increase in the minimum wage as well,” she said.
“Ontario workers struggle a lot. They work for many hours and do not get paid enough.”
Other provincial parties are making promises to increase the minimum wage if elected. The Opposition New Democrats plan to raise the minimum wage to $16 as of Oct. 1.
The Ontario Liberals are promising $16 an hour by 2023, along with 10 paid sick days if they win election in June.