Ontario's minimum wage increase means higher expenses for Ottawa Valley small businesses

Consumers in the Ottawa Valley may start to notice their every day expenses have gone up in price this month, as the province's minimum wage increases.

As of Oct. 1, Ontario's minimum wage is $17.20 an hour, up $0.65.

To cover that new expense, it has movie theatre owner Kevin Marshall considering raising his concession prices.

"At some point we just have to up our rates,” says the owner of O’Brien Theatre in Arnprior.

“Whether that's 25 cents for our small popcorn, that would more than cover the cost of 65 cents per hour."

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The theatre employees five students, all of whom are earning minimum wage.

“Last year at this time, snack bar prices went up and that was to cover the dollar raise that everybody got last year,” says Marshall.

The bump to minimum wage pay cheques comes with the annual cost of living increase, driven primarily by rent, food, and transportation expenses.

Since October 2020, Ontario’s minimum wage has risen $2.95, up from $14.25.

But advocates say the annual increase is still not enough for Ottawa residents to make ends meet.

"A living wage is what a worker must earn in order to make ends meet where they live,” explains Craig Pickthorne with the Ontario Living Wage Network.

“For Ottawa, that is $21.95 (an hour)."

"However, [the current increase] is still $4.75 short of our living wage, which means it's over $160 a week that a worker is short."

Pickthorne says while the increase is a positive for workers, there is still no place to live in Ontario for those earning minimum wage to cover all required expenses.

For small business owners like Marshall, employee wages are becoming a delicate balance.

"I do agree that everybody needs to make more money. But of course, when everybody makes more money, then you have to up the prices to be able to afford to pay the people that are making more money. So it's a never ending cycle."