The BC NDP is promising to raise the provincial minimum wage to $15 an hour by the end of their first term if elected next year, up from the current $10.45.
The BC Liberals claim the increase will hurt small businesses, but the NDP says their plan will see in phased in over four years, giving businesses a chance to adjust.
“If people are struggling just to pay the bills, there’s no money in their pockets to spend in local retail stores,” Stikine NDP MLA Doug Donaldson said.
“Just from a fairness aspect, you’ve got people who are struggling with housing, hydro with putting nutritious food on the table because of all the increases under the BC Liberal government’s.”
The Liberals have tied the minimum wage to the consumer price index and will be increasing it to $10.85 in September.
“British Columbians are struggling to make ends meet with the ever increasing cost of living and skyrocketing user fees,” said Irene Lanzinger, president of the BC Federation of Labour. “Christy Clark is well-aware that people working full-time in this province and earning the minimum wage are living thousands of dollars below the poverty line, but she just doesn’t care.”
The BC Federation of Labour says there are more than 100,000 people earning minimum wage in BC, and nearly half-a-million earning less than $15/hour.