Ontario’s minimum wage will rise to $11 per hour June 1, the provincial government announced Jan. 30.
This new rate replaces the current minimum wage of $10.25 per hour, which was set in 2010.
The liquor service minimum wage will also be raised to $9.55 per hour from $8.90. The student minimum wage, which applies to those under 18 working 28 hours per week or less when school is in session or working during a school break, will be raised to $10.30 per hour from $9.60.
The province said the $11 rate reflects the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase since the minimum wage was frozen. It also announced it would introduce legislation to tie future minimum wage increases to the CPI to ensure minimum wage is consistent with the cost of living.
The decision to increase the rate to $11 was made after a Minimum Wage Advisory Panel, including business, labour, youth, and anti-poverty representatives presented its report to the Ministry of Labour on Jan. 27.
It recommended minimum wages be revised annually by a percentage equal to the per cent change in Ontario’s CPI, and that the government conduct a full review of the minimum wage rate and the revision process every five years.
“In the past, it’s always been a very political ad-hoc decision as to how minimum wage is determined,” Ontario Minister of Labour Yasir Naqvi said. “We wanted to make sure that we have a fair, balanced, and predictable approach to how we determine a minimum wage.”
He said the $11 wage, along with other factors, “ensures that a single mom working full-time can now live above poverty line after taxes.”
Naqvi said the new rate complements other government programs, such as the Ontario Child Benefit, the Trillium grant and the introduction of full-day kindergarten, which will help single mothers live above the poverty line.
Some groups, including the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFS-O) had been calling for the government to increase the minimum wage to $14 per hour.
“We would still rather see the premier institute of $14 minimum wage,” CFS-O chairperson Alastair Woods said. “$11 is an increase and that’s a good thing but it’s going to leave minimum wage earners below the poverty line. So we think if the government is going to commit to raising the minimum wage, they should commit to increasing it above the poverty line and then tie further increasing to the cost of living every year.”
Woods said the CFS-O’s proposed rate was determined by measuring earnings of a 35-hour week and the low income measure.
This measure, calculated by Statistics Canada, reflects the “cut-off point” for people who are not making enough to pay necessities.
“Even though the government might be reluctant to admit workers will still fall below the poverty line, they unfortunately cannot argue with the established fact that $11 an hour cannot make ends meet for full-time workers according to our national statistics agency,” Woods said via email.
