Government is looking at ways to help people. The problem is forcing more rules and regulations will do little to help people as business will always look for ways to reduce cost.

1. DOES INCREASING MINIMUM
WAGE MOVE PEOPLE OFF
POVERTY? – JUNE 2017
BY: PAUL YOUNG, CPA, CGA
DATE: MAY 30, 2017

2. MINIMUM WAGE
• There is lots of talk about minimum wage in Canada. Many
political parties discuss the need to hike both the federal and
provincial minimum wage. This presentation will discuss issues
the impact on changing the minimum wage in Canada.

3. COMMENTARY
• CLC has charmed in to say there is 100,000 workers that are
paid minimum wage - http://canadianlabour.ca/news/news-
archive/why-canada-needs-federal-minimum-wage
• It does seem the NDP is using CLC numbers, but they do not
align with stats -
• Source - http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/fact-check-ndp-
and-liberals-on-the-15-minimum-wage-1.2517664
• Source - http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/08/11/NDP-
Federal-Minimum-Wage/. NDP source says it 100,000
worker, but no stats to back up claim. We all know the NDP
inflate their numbers to look good to their sheep

4. FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE / MINIMUM WAGE
http://www.retailcouncil.org/quickfacts/minimum-wage

5. MINIMUM WAGE
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-630-x/11-630-
x2015006-eng.htm
• When the minimum wage goes up, the proportion of employees
paid at minimum wage may increase. This is because some
employees who were earning above the minimum wage join the
ranks of those earning the minimum wage.
• In 2014, as in 1997, youth, women, students and people with a
lower level of education were the groups most likely to be paid at
minimum wage. In 2014, 49% of employees aged 15 to 19 years
and 15% of those aged 20 to 24 were paid at minimum wage.
The rate for women was 9%, compared with 6% for men. Among
students, 29% were paid at minimum wage, versus 5% of non-
students. Lastly, 20% of employees with less than a high school
diploma were paid at minimum wage, compared with 3% of
employees who had a university degree.
• When the minimum wage goes up, the proportion of employees
paid at minimum wage may increase. This is because some
employees who were earning above the minimum wage join the
ranks of those earning the minimum wage.
• In 2014, as in 1997, youth, women, students and people with a
lower level of education were the groups most likely to be paid at
minimum wage. In 2014, 49% of employees aged 15 to 19 years
and 15% of those aged 20 to 24 were paid at minimum wage.
The rate for women was 9%, compared with 6% for men. Among
students, 29% were paid at minimum wage, versus 5% of non-
students. Lastly, 20% of employees with less than a high school
diploma were paid at minimum wage, compared with 3% of
employees who had a university degree.

6. CFIB – MINIMUM WAGE
Source - http://www.torontosun.com/2017/05/30/small-businesses-cant-shoulder-liberals-
minimum-wage-hike-cfib
Small businesses were “blindsided” by the Ontario government’s
decision to hike the hourly minimum wage to $15 by 2019, the Canadian
Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says.
“You’ve got a small business and they don’t have the wiggle room to
absorb more direct business costs,” Julie Kwiecinski, CFIB’s director of
provincial affairs, said. “Higher CPP, higher EI, hydro, cap and trade,
minimum wage already being increased at the rate of inflation.

7. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
• http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2017/05/30/peterborough-chamber-of-
commerce-fears-job-losses-over-ontarios-plan-for-15-minimum-wage-employment-
standards-reforms
The Peterborough Chamber of Commerce is a member of the Keep Ontario
Working Coalition, which said Tuesday it is concerned about the reforms and fears
they will lead to "unintended consequences, including job losses, rising consumer
costs, and economic hardship."
“The Chamber Network has been involved with the Changing Workplaces Review
over the past two years,” stated Stuart Harrison, president and CEO, Peterborough
Chamber of Commerce.
“Minimum wage was explicitly left out of the conversation, so we’re not sure what’s
guiding today’s announcement. To suddenly legislate the most dramatic minimum
wage increase in Ontario’s history creates serious concern about unintended
consequences.”

8. • Who make up minimum wage earners?
• We sought to answer this question in a recent Fraser Institute study, using data from Statistics
Canada. The results may be surprising for minimum wage advocates. Specifically, we found that:
• • 88 per cent of minimum-wage earners do not live in a low-income household, as measured by
Statistics Canada’s low income cut-off (LICO).
• • 83 per cent of workers living in a low-income household earn more than the minimum wage.
• In other words, most Canadians who earn the minimum wage are not “poor,” and most of those living
in “poor” households earn more than the minimum wage. For a government policy aimed at helping
the working poor, the minimum wage simply does not efficiently or effectively target the people it is
supposed to help.
To help explain these results, we looked at some of the other characteristics of minimum-wage
earners including their age, education, and more. Here is what we found:
• • 58 per cent of minimum-wage earners are teenagers or young adults aged 15 to 24, with the vast
majority of them (85 per cent) living with their parents or other relatives. For many youths, a
minimum wage job is their first while in school and often a stepping stone to higher paid
employment.
• • 54 per cent of minimum-wage earners have achieved a high school diploma or less, signalling very
low levels of education. If we focus on all workers who hold a university degree, then only 3 per centhttps://www.fraserinstitute.org/blogs/the-typical-minimum-wage-earner-in-

9. • • 58 per cent of minimum-wage earners work part-time. More broadly, however, part-time
workers are much more likely than full-time workers to be earning minimum wage.
Consider that just 4 per cent of all full-time workers earn the minimum wage, challenging
the notion that a large cadre of full-time career workers is dependent on the minimum
wage.
• • 20 per cent of minimum-wage earners have an employed spouse, meaning there is more
than one earner in the household. And the vast majority of their spouses earn more than
the minimum wage.
• • Just 2 per cent of minimum-wage earners are single parents with a young child, diffusing
the misperception that minimum-wage earners are generally single parents struggling to
survive.
• The facts paint a surprising picture of the typical minimum-wage earner in Canada: a
young person, usually living with parents or other relatives, while often in school and
working a part-time job.
• If the goal is to help the working poor, raising the minimum wage is at best a very crude
method since it poorly targets those in need. At worse, can produce harmful economic
consequences by reducing job opportunities for low skilled workers.https://www.fraserinstitute.org/blogs/the-typical-minimum-wage-earner-in-

10. NDP POLICY

11. WHO ARE FEDERALLY REGULATED

12. STATS / MINIMUM WAGE

13. WAGES
Source – Stats Canada

14. IMPACT ON FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE

15. IMPACT OF MINIMUM WAGE

16. IMPACT OF MINIMUM WAGE

17. ALBERTA MINIMUM WAGE HIKE

18. ALBERTA MINIMUM WAGE HIKE

19. ALBERTA – MINIMUM WAGE
• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-minimum-
wage-restaurant-group-wants-exemptions-1.3107969
• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/15-minimum-
wage-worries-retailers-restaurants-small-business-
1.3110431

20. SKILLS GAPS

21. ONTARIO / WYNNE
• https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2017/05/29/ontario-liberals-to-unveil-sweeping-
labour-reforms-tuesday.html
• Increase to minimum wage
• More vacation time
• More protection for workers
• Reducing the barriers to unionized
Commentary:
• How is the increasing vacation time benefit helping long-term
employees?
• More red tape means less likely employers will higher new employees
• Businesses are struggling already with higher costs like hydro rates
and carbon tax
• Nobody strives to make minimum wage. Hikes means more
automation will happen as well cuts to hours and/or jobs
Toronto Sun – May 30, 2017

22. OTHER SOURCES
• Poverty - http://www.slideshare.net/paulyoungcga/poverty-
and-low-income-Canada