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Minimum Wage Hike on October 1st

Thursday, 28 September 2017 at 14:36

Minimum wage will increase to $11.60 an hour on October 1st.

The first of three minimum wage hikes in Ontario will take place on October 1st. 

Minimum wage will jump to $11.60 an hour in October from $11.40. This is just a little bump in the minimum wage before a huge increase takes place in the new year. Starting on January 1st minimum wage will increase to $14 an hour, before it jumps again on January 1st 2019 to $15 an hour. 

Minister of Labour for the Ontario Liberals Kevin Flynn says these minimum wage hikes are necessary. 
 
"Fairness and decency must continue to be the defining values of our workplaces. No one working full time should be struggling to put food on the table or buy clothing for their children. Increasing the minimum wage will create more fairness, opportunity and security for workers, while building a more stable and sustainable economy that also includes fair workplaces for everyone."

Small to medium business owners in the Province are worried about what this wage hike will do to their businesses. Early this month Heart FM reported that the Financial Accountability Office released a report claiming that the increase in the minimum wage could result in the loss of jobs. 

We spoke with Conservative Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman who said that 50,000 jobs could be lost if the increase is not phased in. 

"We just can't afford to lose anymore jobs and the people who have those jobs, remember those are all primarily minimum wage jobs, these are people that can't afford to be without that pay cheque either."

Hardeman says he agrees wages should go up, but says the Liberal party should have approached the situation differently. 

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