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B.C.’s minimum wage to get 45-cent boost

This will increase current $15.20 to $15.65
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MLA for Surrey-Newton Harry Bains listens as BC NDP Leader Adrian Dix speaks during a provincial election campaign stop at Chimney Heights Park in Surrey, B.C. on Monday, May 6, 2013. British Columbians go to the polls for a provincial election May 14. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

B.C.’s minimum wage is getting a 45-cent increase in June, the province has announced Monday (March 14).

This is part of a 2020 commitment to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Monday’s announcement brings the province’s minimum wage to $15.65 – the second highest in the country, behind Nunavut.

”B.C. had one of the lowest minimum wages in the country prior to 2017, but was one of the most expensive places to live,” Labour Minister Harry Bains said in a statement.”We do not want our lowest-paid workers to fall behind. The minimum wage increases tied to inflation are part of our plan to build an economy that works for everyone.”

This is the first time the wage increase is tied to average inflation rates in B.C. This year’s rate is 2.8 per cent.

In 2021, 6 per cent of workers across the province, or roughly 136,300 people, earned minimum wage or less, with 52 per cent being younger than 25 years old and 58 per cent women.

More to come.


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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