Supporters say Ontario’s new minimum wage still isn’t “livable.”

Ann Mombourquette now makes 65 cents more an hour than she did last month, but according to a group that calculates how much it costs to make ends meet in Ontario, she needs to earn much more to survive.

On Oct. 1, the province’s general minimum wage increased from $16.55 an hour to $17.20.

That’s still $7.85 less than what the Ontario Living Wage Network says is “livable.” The nonprofit calculates what a living wage should be based on factors such as the cost of shelter, food or transportation in a given area. It says the living wage in the Greater Toronto Area in 2023 will be at least $25.05 an hour.

Mombourquette, a minimum-wage retail worker in Toronto, says the high costs of rent and food make it harder than ever for her family to pay their bills. For this reason, one of her adult children (30 years old) recently returned home.

“I was an empty nester, and now everyone is back home,” she said. “Between utilities, gas, water, phone… it’s very difficult.”

Mombourquette and her adult children are among the nearly one million workers who the province says currently earn the minimum wage and currently benefit from annual inflation-related increases. However, according to the Ontario Living Wage Network, the current province-wide minimum wage is still below the living wage in every region of the province. The organization calculated that the lowest livable wage in southwestern Ontario is $18.65 and the highest in the Greater Toronto Area is $25.05.

“There is simply no place in Ontario where you can work full-time at minimum wage and be able to pay all your bills,” said Craig Pickthorne, director of the Ontario Living Wage Network. He says workers in the GTA are missing hundreds of dollars a month.

Pickthorne says the government has chosen a minimum wage that seems arbitrary in relation to the costs to workers.

“$17.20 is not enough,” Mombourquette said, adding that she is currently looking into ways to access a local food bank for the first time to reduce household costs.

Opposition parties say the minimum wage is not enough

Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government raised Ontario’s overall minimum wage to $14 an hour on January 1, 2018, a significant increase from the 2017 rate of $11.60 and modest increases of 15 to 25 cents an hour. hour from 2015. Wynne’s Liberals have said they plan to raise it to $15 in 2019, followed by an annual increase in the inflation rate, but the Ford government, which took office in the summer of 2018, has delayed further minimum wage increases.

The Ford government waited until 2022 to raise the minimum wage to $15 and has now tied the increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of Labor, Immigration, Training and Skills Development says provides “stability for workers and predictability for businesses “

Critics say the delay means the base rate was too low even as the government began tying increases to inflation.

“The fact that things are growing is good,” said Marit Stiles, leader of the Ontario NDP. “But we need to adjust the base to reflect reality and then link it to inflation. Right now, the base is way too low for the current level of people.”

He says the government also needs to do a better job of tackling serious challenges such as the lack of affordable housing.

Aislinn Clancy, vice-chair of the Green Party of Ontario, represents the riding of Kitchener-Centre, where the living wage is $20.90 an hour.

She says food banks in her area are telling her that food consumption is doubling in a year, and many area residents are increasingly unable to afford rent or are experiencing “renovations” – being forced to leave rental properties when the landlord decides to renovate.

In her opinion, the raise should be higher and combined with other measures.

“The government needs to do more to control rent prices and put some restrictions on these bad actors and make sure we have a living wage so people can have a roof and food to eat,” Clancy said.

In a statement, Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said: “In Doug Ford’s Ontario, people are struggling, wages are falling, costs are higher, and Ford is focused on helping his friends.”

In her opinion, the government should focus on keeping the cost of living low.

Asked to respond to comments that the minimum wage is not a living wage, a ministry spokesperson said: “We understand that costs vary across regions and we remain committed to supporting workers across the province.”

The province says it is doing everything it can to increase supply and is meeting with labor groups and municipalities as it works to meet its goal of building 1.5 million homes of all types by 2031.

In 2023 and 2024, rent increases are set at a maximum of 2.5%. per month, with rent control only applicable to apartments occupied by someone before November 15, 2018.

Insecure work making the situation worse: supporter

The minimum wage in Ontario is one of the highest in the country. This year’s 3.9% increase means a worker earning the general minimum wage in a 40-hour workweek will earn as much as $1,355 more, according to a statement from the ministry.

Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto, the province’s largest food bank, told CBC Toronto the provincial government must address the rise of precarious work while raising the minimum wage to reap greater benefits.

“The fastest growing group of people coming to the food bank are people who, on paper, have enough hours to survive but don’t have the income and benefits to do so,” he said.

Pickthorne says his organization will publish another set of living wage rates in November, which are expected to further widen the disparity between the living wage and the minimum wage.

“If someone lives in Ontario and works full-time, they should be able to make ends meet,” Pickthorne said.

He says the government must continue to invest in programs like child care and affordable housing, as well as raise the minimum wage, to make that happen.