Anti-poverty group echoes calls for higher minimum wage

Saskatchewan became the province with the lowest minimum wage in Canada this month, prompting an anti-poverty group to join calls to raise the current rate.

Peter Gilmer from the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry said a $15-per-hour minimum wage would signal movement toward a living wage.

“That movement is an absolutely essential component of any serious anti-poverty strategy,” Gilmer said.

Increases to Saskatchewan’s minimum wage are currently tied to the Consumer Price Index, a measurement reflecting the average cost of a basket of typical consumer goods and services.

The most recent raise in Saskatchewan’s minimum wage came in October, when it moved from $10.96 to the current $11.06 rate.

“The most recent indexing process only led to a 10-cent increase so really, what we’ve seen from the province’s indexing process is really just indexed poverty,” Gilmer said.

He said the wage doesn’t reflect increases in the cost of living.

“In Regina, when we’re looking at rents alone, we saw the 43-per-cent increase in rents between 2006 and 2010 and consistent increases since then,” Gilmer said.

Along with public education and advocacy, Gilmer’s group helps to make sure people with low incomes receive the benefits they are entitled to. He said their caseload has increased to close to 2,500 clients over the last three years.

“The one common denominator is that their incomes are too low and their costs for basic necessities like housing are too high,” he said.

Gilmer said raising the minimum wage would not be enough to fight poverty without measures  to control costs, including ensuring affordable housing and childcare.