Ontario Chamber of Commerce Statement:
Starting Sunday, October 1, Ontario’s minimum wage will increase from $15.50 to $16.55 per hour. This is a scheduled increase that takes place every October.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce is supportive of scheduled increases so that businesses have time to plan. What businesses value most, is predictability. When the increases have been unscheduled, without consultation, we have come out against it as you can see in this statement here.
Our position:
- We are in favour of fair compensation and wage increases that are planned and done in consultation with the business community so that businesses have time to plan and implement the changes.
- We also recognize that workers have been impacted by higher cost of living, affordability challenges and the competition for attracting and retaining talent.
- According to recent data from Statistics Canada, people are leaving Ontario in record numbers due to affordability issues.
