Living wage in Waterloo Region set at $16 an hour
Posted Oct 16, 2014 02:47:55 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Minimum Wage is not enough.
A report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released today is figuring out “Living Wage” in Waterloo.
The report shows an average person with a family Waterloo needs to be making $16 an hour to afford the cost of living.
Right now, minimum wage in Ontario is $11 an hour.
Greg deGroot-Maggetti, Chair of the Living Wage Waterloo Region steering committee says living wage is based on a two adult, two children family, in which the adults work full-time all year.
“It’s enough to cover their monthly expenses for everything from food, shelter, transportation, health care, the children’s school fees and also enough for the family to participate in the community, to take a modest community; camping for example,” says deGroot-Maggetti.
The committee is launching the living wage employers program on November 4th recognizing employers in the region offering the living wage of $16 an hour.
“For many employers in the region, they’re paying many of their employees already at or above the living wage,” says deGroot-Maggetti. “We’ll probably have a-half-dozen employers lined up and we’re beginning to get requests in from other employers in the community as they learn about the program.”
In comparison around the region, Hamilton’s living wage was $14.95, Guelph sits at $15.95 and Halton Region is upwards of $17 an hour. The lowest nationally is $13 in Medicine Hat, Alberta while the highest, is $20.10 in Vancouver, BC.
