Province appoints advisory panel – minimum wage currently $10.25 per hour
Ontario has appointed an advisory panel to look into the province’s minimum wage rate, which currently sits at $10.25 per hour and hasn’t risen for three years.
The panel, chaired by Anil Verma, professor of HR management at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of management, will examine the current minimum wage policy and provide advice on how the province should determine the minimum wage in the future.
Ontario is one of the few Canadian jurisdictions — along with British Columbia and the Northwest Territories — that don’t have a formal mechanism for calculating or adjusting the minimum wage.
Consultations will be held with business and labour groups, workers, anti-poverty advocates and academics.
Ontario’s minimum wage has increased 50 per cent since 2003, rising from $6.85 to $10.25. A worker earning minimum wage in Ontario would earn $21,320 per year based on a 40-hour workweek.
Verma is expected to provider his advice to the government this winter.
