National

B.C. to boost minimum wage to $16.75 an hour

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Apr, 2023 03:16 PM

VICTORIA - British Columbia's minimum wage will increase to $16.75 an hour, a boost that the government says fulfils a promise to tie the benchmark pay level to inflation.

The new minimum wage kicks in on June 1 and represents a 6.9 per cent increase from the current $15.65 an hour.

Labour Minister Harry Bains says the measure is a key step to preventing the province's lowest-paid workers from falling behind.

He says the same percentage increase will apply for residential caretakers, live-in home-support workers and camp leaders.

People in BC are finding it difficult to make ends meet, especially the lowest-paid workers. Tying the minimum wage to the rate of inflation is the right thing to do. From Jun. 1, #BC’s #minimumwage will increase to $16.75/hour. Lean more: https://t.co/9g1MWMK3AA @BCGovNews pic.twitter.com/JxvkWdbqRl
— Harry Bains (@HarryBainsSN) April 5, 2023

A ministry statement says the wage increase matches B.C.'s 2022 average inflation rate and will benefit about 150,000 workers, most of them food service staff, grocery store workers, retail workers and others who were essential workers during the pandemic.

The $1.10 increase is much greater than the 45-cent boost in 2022, which matched the previous year's 2.8 per cent inflation rate.

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