On Apr. 1, Nova Scotia’s minimum wage is set to increase from $15 to $15.20, but the new minimum is still below Halifax’s livable wage of $26.50. The Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives shows it is more expensive to live in Halifax than in Vancouver, BC, despite the wage increase.
Travis Meisner, the owner of Auntie Dorns in the Annapolis Valley, says, “I feel [the April 2024 wage increase] may be too small of an increase in comparison to the cost of living. Businesses will have to adjust the way they do pricing, spending, etc to compensate.”
Employees of the Halifax grocery store Pete’s Frootique & Fine Foods were on strike from November 2023 to January 2024 due to low wages. On Jan. 8, the union representing Pete’s employees announced they reached an agreement with owner, Sobeys.
The change will ensure most workers see a wage increase of at least a dollar an hour. The change brings wages ranging from hourly pay of $15.45 to $19.57 and a signing bonus of up to $250.
Tyson Boyd, an employee of Pete’s for over four years, took part in the wage strike.
“We’ve known for some time now that the minimum wage is woefully inadequate for the cost of living in this province,” he said.
British Columbia’s minimum wage is currently $16.75 an hour, which is higher than Nova Scotia’s.
Unlike Nova Scotia, low-earning households in British Columbia receive up to $8000 a year in income assistance. There has been little improvement in tax credits or income benefits in Nova Scotia.
“When the minimum wage committee makes recommendations to government, they want to think about the potential impact of minimum wage increases on the economy in Nova Scotia, how does it impact employees, how does it impact businesses, and they’re trying to balance fair wages for workers,” said Director of NS Labour Standards Lynn Hartley.
A Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives study revealed that Halifax’s living wage is $26.50 an hour. In Vancouver, the living wage is $25.68 an hour.
“I think it’s just so clear that, from my experience in the working world, and getting to know these people out on the picket line, this incremental approach to income equality is just not cutting the mustard for people, and it’s not closing the gap fast enough to do any real good for us,” said Boyd.
Nearly 50 per cent of workers in Nova Scotia made below a liveable wage according to a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in 2022.
The living wage for Nova Scotia increased by 14 per cent on average in 2023, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. This marks the most significant increase since they started tracking the living wage of Nova Scotia in 2015.
In 2024, it is projected that workers in Canadian provinces such as Ontario and British Columbia will receive a wage increase of 3.6 per cent on average. Nova Scotia is expected to see average wage increases “slightly below” the 3.6 per cent national average.
“At the end of the day, if there are people to be cared for in the province, it is the responsibility of a duly, like the government, to care for its people,” said Boyd.
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