New Brunswick increased the minimum hourly wage by 5 cents on April 1, 2021. (Photo: Stephanie Sirois)
Some advocates in New Brunswick see the province’s five-cent minimum wage increase on April Fools’ Day as nothing more than a joke.
Abram Lutes, the provincial coordinator of the New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice, said an hourly wage of $11.75 is not enough progress.
“Even a $15 is sort of a starting point and it’s true that even in New Brunswick that’s behind a living wage in some parts of the province so we should be looking towards even a $20 minimum wage,” he said.
Five Cents Is Not A Raise, Say Advocates 919thebend.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 919thebend.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
New Brunswick’s latest report on poverty reduction showed promising signs for the province.
On February 12, the Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation released Overcoming Poverty Together: The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan 2014-2019.
The document showed the number of New Brunswickers living in poverty went down from 100,000 in 2010 to 58,000 in 2018 – a 42 per cent drop.
That put the province in a tie with Quebec for the second-best provincial poverty rate in Canada at 7.9 per cent, trailing only Alberta.
Executive Director Stéphane Leclair said the improvements referenced in the report are a big deal.
“We know how tough it is to navigate through the economy when people are losing their job and so on, but because of the collaboration of the four sectors we are seeing a big change on the New Brunswick landscape,” Leclair said.
N B Ranked Second In Poverty Rate In 2018 919thebend.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 919thebend.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.