B.C. has now earned the dubious distinction of having the lowest minimum wage in the country.That happened Friday, after New Brunswick – previously the province with the lowest hourly wage – raised its minimum wage to $10.65, surpassing B.C.’s rate of $10.45.
It’s a case of how moving very, very slowly can be awfully close to standing still.
It’s not hard to see how this occurred. The minimum wage was frozen at $8/hour for a decade between 2001 and 2011. Only after that did it gradually start to rise.
B.C. is set to soon announce another increase that will go into effect in September. But a growing number of critics are suggesting the 10 to 30 cents an hour expected isn’t nearly enough. Those behind a campaign for minimum wage of $15 an hour say bigger increases are needed to bring the lowest wage earners above the poverty line.
They raise some good points. While the B.C. economy is often touted as “booming” compared to other parts of the country, it’s clear that is not the case for everyone. Low-wage workers tend to be those in the service sector and are disproportionately women and new Canadians.
While the minimum wage has crawled upwards in the past five years, the same can’t be said for the costs of necessities like rent, food and hydro, which have surged. Making ends meet in the Lower Mainland on minimum wage – even for those who work more than full time – is next to impossible.
As Irene Lanzinger, president of the B.C. Labour Federation said, “It’s shameful.”
We agree.
There is something inherently unfair about legislating a wage that is impossible to live on.
Shirley Bond, the minister of jobs, tourism and skills training and minister responsible for labour, said raising the minimum wage would be challenging for B.C. businesses. Frankly, we think not raising it is equally challenging for B.C. businesses. People living in B.C. have to buy services and products here – if they can’t afford to do that, obviously businesses suffer as well.
Now could be an excellent moment to consider how B.C. can stop winning this particular race to the bottom.
