$15 minimum wage in Ontario implemented

[Adelaide]

Back in 2014, the Ontario Liberals introduced legislation to tie the minimum wage to inflation. The idea came about after study by an expert panel of labour, business and youth representatives, and it was designed to be both fair to workers and predictable for companies. The government was keen to emphasize that the move would take the politics out of the contentious minimum wage issue.

Three years later, the Liberals put the politics right back in, opting to raise the minimum wage from $11.60 an hour to $14 as of January 2018, and to $15 the following year. The scale and pace of the jump is virtually unprecedented in Canada and the U.S., making the long-term impact tough to gauge. Businesses have warned that wage hikes could result in a decrease in hours for employees, a slowdown in hiring, price increases and job losses. Those complaintsare par for the course when a minimum wage increase is proposed, but some actions by businesses appear to have taken the province by surprise. In the wake of revelations that some companies may have violated workplace rules in response to the minimum wage hike, the Ministry of Labour said this week it’s hiring up to 175 new inspectors to investigate complaints and ensure compliance.

The past week has been messy, with accusations that businesses are behaving unethically, but also that the provincial government’s policy is to blame. Still, the policy could prove advantageous for Premier Kathleen Wynne in the upcoming provincial election—even with turmoil in the business community.

The minimum wage hike will cost Kathleen Wynne, but how much? - Macleans

This is all I heard about when I was in Canada for the holidays, mostly that my family and friends disagreed with it. Some businesses are being boycotted because of their response to the first step in implementation (as of January 1 2018 minimum wage is $14/hour, and will get to $15/hour on January 1 2019). Some issues are that temp workers now must be paid the same as permanent workers in their position, benefits are now being rolled back so workers pay more, changes in emergency leave, so on.

From another source:

When the Ontario government passed legislation last year to increase the minimum wage by 21 per cent, businesses warned they would be forced to eliminate jobs and reduce hours and benefits for employees. Now, those cuts are happening.

The decisions are all due to the increase that kicked in on Jan. 1, which raised the minimum wage to $14 from $11.60, and to prepare for the hike to $15 coming on Jan. 1, 2019.

Shannon Leslie Stewart won't be hiring a student this summer to work in her consignment store, Covet Community Closet in Stratford, Ont. Ms. Stewart is also putting off plans to offer employee benefits and has changed her salary structure to include commission, instead of paying above minimum wage as she has in the past.

"Not hiring a student was a hard decision for me to make," says Ms. Stewart. "I love having young students and giving them their first job experience … It might be a good social investment, but I have to think with a business mind."

Ms. Stewart is among thousands of business owners in Ontario making changes to adjust to the higher minimum wage. She says she isn't opposed to paying employees more, but the rapid increase has left her struggling to cover the costs.

Minimum-wage hike spurs Ontario Businesses to cut benefits, hours - Globe and Mail

I figure the United States, and specific states, will be watching closely to see what happens.

$15/hour is just $#@!ing crazy, in my opinion.

[texan]

Yep. More thoughtless stupid liberal policies.

[Kalkin]

Liberals are all about feel-good vote buying and couldn't care less about the repercussions of their anti-freedom agenda.

[Green Arrow]

Thanks for the post, @Adelaide. Would you happen to know, off-hand, what the average cost of living is in Ontario?

[Adelaide]

Thanks for the post, @Adelaide. Would you happen to know, off-hand, what the average cost of living is in Ontario?

Varies. Toronto is horrible. Most major cities are, but this is the average for Canada: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...country=Canada . You would have to look specifically at large cities like Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, and so on.

[Green Arrow]

Varies. Toronto is horrible. Most major cities are, but this is the average for Canada: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...country=Canada . You would have to look specifically at large cities like Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, and so on.

In your opinion, would any locale of Ontario have a high enough CoL to justify $15/h?

[stjames1_53]

one thing is for sure, that government will be able to collect more taxes from this increase, keeping the wage earner down to what he was before.......

[Peter1469]

WaPo has an article today about the effects of a $15 min wage.

What does a $15 minimum wage do to the economy? Economists are starting to find out.

The preliminary findings of a number of new studies were shared this month at the American Economic Association's annual conference in Philadelphia. The presenters all stressed that the findings were early, incomplete and subject to considerable revision.
Overall, the papers presented a mixed picture on the effects of the minimum wage. Here's what they found:

Read the entire article at the link.

[Grokmaster]

The minimum wage hike will cost Kathleen Wynne, but how much? - Macleans

This is all I heard about when I was in Canada for the holidays, mostly that my family and friends disagreed with it. Some businesses are being boycotted because of their response to the first step in implementation (as of January 1 2018 minimum wage is $14/hour, and will get to $15/hour on January 1 2019). Some issues are that temp workers now must be paid the same as permanent workers in their position, benefits are now being rolled back so workers pay more, changes in emergency leave, so on.

From another source:



Minimum-wage hike spurs Ontario Businesses to cut benefits, hours - Globe and Mail

I figure the United States, and specific states, will be watching closely to see what happens.

$15/hour is just $#@!ing crazy, in my opinion.

Well, that should close a number of businesses, and stop any substantial new hires, also, as the "Seattle Effect" takes hold....

[Green Arrow]

Well, that should close a number of businesses, and stop any substantial new hires, also, as the "Seattle Effect" takes hold....

Seattle’s unemployment rate is 3.7%, lower than the national average, and there’s no evidence that raising the minimum wage has had any significant impact on unemployment.