Alberta, Seattle offer lesson for Ontario wage hike, Jan. 15
Relax, everyone. The economic apocalypse feared by free-market think-tanks and food-service franchises is unlikely to occur. New Zealand’s basic minimum wage is $15.25 (NZD) an hour. Australia pays $17.70 (AUS). Both countries are surviving. After Seattle raised its minimum wage to $15 (U.S.) an hour in 2014, a Berkeley study in 2017 found that while the wages for workers in fast-food industries had risen, no negative effect on employment was noted.
In New Zealand right now, small businesses are fretting about a proposed basic minimum wage of $20 an hour in 2021. How would Canada feel about that wage hike?
Margaret van Dijk, Toronto
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