The decision by newly minted B.C. Premier Christy Clark to raise the provincial minimum wage to $8.75 on May 1, increasing to $10.25 in a year, will do little to improve the lot of workers at the bottom of the pay grid.
In 2001, B.C.'s $8 minimum wage was the highest in Canada. It has stayed there ever since, while other provinces have recognized the ever-increasing cost of living by raising theirs. Now, it's the lowest. Even after the initial boost of 75 cents this May, we'll still have the worst minimum wage in the country.
Think of all the things that have become more expensive in the past 10 years: rent, utilities, gas, transit, clothes, food. In fact, it's safe to say no staple of everyday life is cheaper today than in 2001.
And yet B.C.'s minimum-wage earners have had to watch their already meagre buying power diminish rapidly in Canada's most expensive province.
Business groups say they can't afford to pay a higher minimum wage. Reality says we can't afford not to.
What do you think?Do you approve of the plans to increase the minimum wage in British Columbia? Vote in our online poll.
