Minister of Labour Yasir Naqvi presented Bill 165 (Minimum Fair Wage Act, 2014) today in the Assembly for first reading. Based on the recommendations of the Minimum Wage Advisory Panel, the legislation would increase the minimum wage from $10.25 to $11 on June 1st, making it the highest provincial minimum wage in Canada. It will also tie future increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
(As noted by Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers’ Support Group in their presentation to the Advisory Panel, minimum wage increases can have negative unintended consequences for injured workers because of deeming. Injured workers receive benefits based upon the assumption that they are capable of working at a minimum wage job, when in fact they are not working. An increase in the minimum wage means that benefits are decreased because of the higher deemed earnings for a job the worker does not have)