The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Minimum wage earners in Manitoba will get a 25-cent raise starting April 1, bumping their hourly compensation up to $7.25. To help soften the impact on employers, the province has announced an $11.8-million business tax break that took effect January 1. "The gradual increase of the minimum wage along with the tax cut for businesses makes it more manageable for an employer while still allowing us to increase the purchasing power of low-income earners," said Labour and Immigration Minister Nancy Allan in a press statement. The increase will allow minimum wage earners who work 40 hours per week to make an extra $41.67 a month, before taxes. That amounts to an additional $500 per year, before taxes. For 2005, the general Corporation Income Tax rate will decrease to 15 per cent from 15.5 per cent. Other changes to the small business taxes include another increase to the Corporation Income Tax small business threshold to $400,000 from $360,000. Allan noted that a new Minimum Wage Board would be convened shortly to discuss Manitoba's minimum wage strategy for 2006 and beyond. Manitoba's position continues to be in the middle of rates among Canadian jurisdictions. Here are the hourly minimum wages across Canada as of Jan. 1: 1. Nunavut, $8.50 2. Northwest Territories, $8.25 3. British Columbia, $8 4. Quebec, $7.45 5. Yukon, $7.20 6. Ontario, $7.15 7. Manitoba, $7.00 8. Prince Edward Island, $6.80 9. Saskatchewan, $6.65 10. Nova Scotia, $6.50 11. New Brunswick, $6.30 12. Newfoundland and Labrador, $6 13. Alberta, $5.90
