Workers across Ontario are set to receive a pay raise next month as the minimum wage is scheduled to increase from $17.20 to $17.60 per hour starting on October 1. This adjustment translates to an annual wage hike of $835 for individuals working full-time at 40 hours per week. However, despite this increase, Craig Pickthorne, the director of communications for the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN), emphasized that the raise falls short of meeting the necessary living standards in the province.
The provincial government bases the annual minimum wage adjustment on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI), with this year’s increase amounting to 2.4 percent. Ontario’s minimum wage will become the second-highest in the country after British Columbia, which rose to $17.85 per hour in June. Pickthorne highlighted that the CPI does not fully capture the actual expenses faced by Ontario residents, particularly overlooking essential costs like housing.
Each year, the OLWN calculates the living wage for various regions in Ontario, considering factors such as housing, food, transportation, and childcare. Last year, the network determined that a worker in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) needed to earn $26 per hour to afford a decent standard of living, representing a 3.8 percent increase from the previous year.
Viet Vu, the manager of economic research at The Dais, a public policy think tank at Toronto Metropolitan University, noted that while the wage increase will provide some relief to workers, the raise of 40 cents per hour is insufficient, especially considering the impact of inflation on goods and the stagnant wages during the pandemic.
Pickthorne emphasized that minimum wage jobs are held by a diverse range of individuals, including many from marginalized groups, contrary to common misconceptions. He encouraged more companies to adopt living wage standards, citing benefits such as reduced turnover, improved productivity, and better employee well-being.
Overall, the advocacy for higher wages reflects the ongoing debate surrounding the adequacy of minimum wage levels and the need for policies that address the actual cost of living in Ontario.
