Minimum wage increases in Ontario won’t help with the rising cost of living, owner says
Ontario's minimum wage increased 50 cents an hour over the weekend, but Aiana owner Devinder Chaudhary says the increase to $15.50 won’t help with the rising cost of living.
"The minimum wage should be the living wage,” Chaudhary said.
His Ottawa restaurant is part of the Ontario Living Wage Network, paying his employees a minimum of $18.60 an hour. That is the calculated wage an Ottawa resident needs to adequately cover expenses like food, clothing, shelter, medical and other expenses.
"If the experts say 18.60 is what you need, I’m not sure how 15.50 is justified," Chaudhary said.
The 50-cent hike comes after Canada’s inflation rate reached a nearly 40 year high in June.
While that has slowed, the cost of groceries are up. For some businesses, the wage bump comes at difficult time as they try to bounce back from the pandemic.
"Look, if governments are going to turn to an increase, they should reduce the costs businesses are facing in other lines," CFIB president Dan Kelly said. "That could be a corporate tax decrease or relief from employer’s health tax."
The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses says about 60 per cent of small businesses are not hitting their revenue levels. This hike is going to put more pressure on wages.
"It affects the entire minimum wage scale," Kelly said. "Those who were making more than minimum wage now expect an increase on their wage."
And that increase could likely pass the cost onto customers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.