Merci, Monsieur le President. When I was in high school, I was getting $1.25 an hour, but, look, this is irrelevant. The fact is that people are now getting $20 an hour through the wage top-up program, and that $20 an hour is going to get rolled back when this program ends. We are not going to increase the minimum wage to $18 an hour. People are going to have their wages rolled back. That is the fact of it. Our minimum wage and even the wage top-up program did not provide a living wage of around $24 an hour for people living in Inuvik, Hay River, or Yellowknife, let alone the smaller communities. Can the Minister explain how we can ever lift people out of poverty when 9 percent of our labour force makes the minimum wage, which does not even get close to a living wage? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Kevin O'Reilly on Question 527-19(2): Minimum Wage and Top-Up Program
In the Legislative Assembly on February 9th, 2021. See this statement in context.
Question 527-19(2): Minimum Wage and Top-Up Program
Oral Questions
February 9th, 2021
Page 1853
See context to find out what was said next.