The previous Ontario Premier was much hated for increasing electricity costs, seeming apathy towards low-income Torontonians and allowing extremely high salaries for some public sector CEOs during her watch.
Before being swept out, she brought in some populist measures one of which was increasing the minimum wage to $14/hr significantly from its previous rate with an increase to $15 the following year, both over the objections of the private sector. Two things happened. The rate increase caused a rise in food and other retail prices with businesses complaining their wage bill became unmanageable and they had to pass it on. Secondly they started cutting working hours for lower-end jobs that earned that minimum wage. So the poorer sections did not get as much ahead as intended. Looking at Alberta’s experience of minimum wage of $13.60/hr, with a promise to raise it to Ontario level, more people are worse off than before when minimum wage was a rarity. More jobs are advertised with minimum wage and more people are earning it. Remember, Alberta is an oil rich province where there was no GST and high paying jobs were plentiful once. You could without any skills get into McDonalds flipping burgers for $18. Like many countries in the western world, the disparity between low and high income earners is becoming wider and for Canada a rich semi-socialist society like Norway, Sweden and Denmark, that does not bode well. Perhaps the current PM is out of his depth or out of touch with his poorer citizens. Roland Francis Scarborough.
