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Background
November 1, 2006
Between 2000 and 2005, employment in BC grew by 9 percent, but the number of minimum wage earners has grown by 36 percent. In a community of over 500,000 people, Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut Off (LICO) in 2005 for a single person was $17,219 after taxes. A single person working for $8.00 an hour for 40 hours per week for a full year would earn $15,613 after income tax, EI and CPP deductions. At $10.00 an hour, the single full-time, full-year worker would earn $17,494 after income tax and deductions, earning just enough to reach above the poverty line. The Federation has also called on the government to introduce legislation similar to the State of Washington, so that future increases are indexed annually to inflation. It is estimated that 250,000 BC workers would benefit from an immediate raise of the minimum wage to $10.00 Interested in more information? Download the Federation’s brief More than 100,000 Reasons to Raise the Minimum Wage.
