Alberta’s minimum wage freeze isn’t going anywhere.
The UCP government has voted down a bill that would bring wages upward over the next few years.
Bill 201, brought forward by Calgary-Mountain View MLA Kathleen Ganley, proposed raising the minimum wage by $1 a year for three years, scrapping the lower youth wage, and making sure service workers keep their tips. Ganley says rejecting the bill shows the government is ignoring how tough things have gotten for workers.
Alberta’s minimum wage has stayed at $15 an hour for seven years now, and Alberta now has the lowest minimum wage in Canada, while other provinces bumped theirs up again last month.
Back in 2018, Alberta actually had the highest minimum wage in the country. The NDP says the bill would have offered some relief as living costs continue to climb.
The UCP signalled early it wouldn’t support the proposal. Premier Danielle Smith argues previous wage hikes hurt youth employment, especially in rural communities. Some economists, though, say the impact was small and doesn’t justify keeping wages frozen indefinitely.
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