TORONTO, ON, Jan. 30, 2014: The Ontario Chamber of Commerce is encouraged by the Government of Ontario’s decision to tie future rate increases in the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), as the Chamber had recommended to the Minimum Wage Advisory Panel in fall 2013.
“Tying minimum wage to the CPI brings much needed predictability, transparency, and fairness to the entire process,” says Allan O’Dette, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “Today’s decision is a positive development for businesses who have long been calling for an end to political interference in how we set the minimum wage.”
The Ontario Chamber also notes that businesses are pleased that the government is providing them with six months notification before a rate change can come into effect.
However, the Chamber expresses disappointment in the government’s decision to hike the minimum wage rate to $11 an hour in the short-term. “While a bump in the minimum wage is not ideal for Ontario businesses, today’s outcome is better than almost any other scenario that the Ontario government has been considering, including a one-time hike to a $14 an hour minimum wage,” adds O’Dette.
In its 2013 submission to the Minimum Wage Advisory Panel, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce called on government to: tie the minimum wage to the provincial CPI; introduce increases to the minimum wage every two years; give businesses ample notification before a change in the minimum wage takes effect; and avoid a one-time bump in the minimum wage.
Read the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s submission to government on the minimum wage here.
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For more information, contact:
Neville McGuire
Manager of Communications, Ontario Chamber of Commerce
E. nevillemcguire@occ.on.ca
T. 416.482.5222 ext. 2410