N.S. to review minimum wage approach as advocates decry 'laughable' increase

Nova Scotia has agreed to review its current approach to minimum wage increases as calls for higher wages in the province grow louder.

The Department of Labour says it is following a recommendation from the minimum wage review committee, an arms-length body mandated by Nova Scotia's Labour Standards Code to conduct an annual review of minimum wage. 

"The minimum wage rate affects the lives of many workers and businesses across our province," Labour Minister Lena Metlege Diab said in a news release last week. "I look forward to this review on what is an important issue for Nova Scotians."

The province did not say specifically what would be reviewed, but the review committee said in its annual report there were concerns that Nova Scotia's minimum wage should be closer to the middle of the pack nationwide and a leader in the Atlantic provinces as a way to better attract workers.

It also suggested a diversity and inclusion lens be applied when setting government policy in relation to the minimum wage, and noted that women make up 62 per cent of minimum wage earners.

40-cent increase

Nova Scotia's minimum wage is set to increase by 40 cents to $12.95 an hour on April 1.

But that's still far too low, according to Hailie Tattrie, an organizer with Fight for $15 and Fairness Halifax.

"It's laughable, actually," she said. "Nova Scotians deserve better."

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives estimates the living wage in the Halifax area for a family of four to be $21.80 an hour. Tattrie would like to see a minimum wage in Nova Scotia closer to that.

"How are people supposed to afford astronomical rent prices? How are they supposed to afford groceries when a living wage for them to meet those needs is over 20 dollars an hour and we're giving people a laughable, roughly, 13 dollars an hour?" she said.

Tattrie said the pandemic has "shone a light" on minimum wage workers — such as those working in retail or custodial positions — who have not had the option to work from home and have continued going into work to ensure people's needs are met.

She was critical of major grocery chains slashing the temporary so-called "hero pay," which gave workers an additional $2 an hour in the early days of the pandemic.

"If they're heroes, why aren't they treated as such? For goodness sakes, we can't even give them a $15 minimum wage," Tattrie said. "Some of the hardest workers are the people who make the lowest bit of money, and that shouldn't be our reality."

Tattrie also said the review should include a lens of intersectionality and take into account how privilege — or lack thereof — affects someone's ability to earn a living wage.

"When you're looking at increases to minimum wage, you have to take into consideration, too, how does race play a role here? How does someone's queer identity play a role? Who's at more of a risk to be homeless? Things like that," she said.

"There needs to be an intersectional approach to these reports, and all these instances need to be taken into consideration, especially during this pandemic."

According to the Conference Board of Canada, white Nova Scotians earn an average of 7.3 per cent more than people of colour. This disparity is larger with gender taken into account, with a "female racial wage gap" in the province of 11.19 per cent.

More work to be done

The formula for setting this year's minimum wage, as laid out in the minimum wage review committee report, is to increase the rate by 30 cents, add that to the percentage change in the projected consumer price index for the 2020 calendar year, and round that figure to the nearest five cents.

Danny Cavanagh, the president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, said he's glad Nova Scotia's approach to setting the minimum wage is under review.

The province has made progress in recent years, said Cavanagh, noting it raised the minimum wage by a dollar in 2020 — the largest increase in a decade.

"So we've made some progress there, but there's still more to do. Nova Scotia's still lagging," he said. "We need to see greater increases in the minimum wage so people can live better day-to-day and meet the needs that they have to meet to look after a family."

While business groups have argued a higher wage would hurt local businesses, Cavanagh disagreed. "Minimum wage went up by a dollar an hour over the last year, we haven't seen any huge outcry."

He said a higher wage for workers means more money being spent in the local economy.

"The workers that we're talking about here, those are the people that are spending their money in the shops downtown and the restaurants downtown and those kinds of things," he said. 

"Those aren't the people that are hoarding their money in tax havens offshore."

Review to be completed by end of 2021

In a statement, Department of Labour spokesperson Shannon Kerr said the members of the minimum wage review committee will conduct the review, but didn't offer further details of what they'd be looking at.

"Staff of the department will support the committee's work. The specifics of the review and the options that will be explored will be determined by the committee itself," the statement said.

Kerr said the committee is expected to complete its review and provide its recommendations to the Labour Department by the end of the calendar year.

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