Liberals' Minimum Wage Laws: A Plan to Increase Approval Ratings in View of the Next Election?
On October 1st 2017, Ontario’s minimum wage rose to 11.60$ an hour, from a previous level of 11.40$ an hour. This minimum wage comes from a proposed plan of Ontario’s Liberal premier to ensure more security for its workers by the name of “Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs”. The bill was proposed in May 2017 and it has since created a lot of debate in the Legislative Assembly at Queen’s Park. If passed, it would cause the minimum wage to rise to 14$/hour on January 1st, 2018 and, successively, 15$/hour on January 1st 2019. The question on minimum wages has been hotly debated for a long time, with advocates saying it will reduce poverty and increase the standard of living of the working class, while opposers fearing that it will reduce employment due to the higher cost of labor faced by businesses. The minimum wage policy is usually aimed towards low income and poor families whose wage is not enough for the current cost of living. That said, this policy might actually hurt their employment. Businesses …