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.
Manitobans making minimum wage will start pulling in some extra cash in April. Effective April 1, the province will boost the minimum wage to $7 per hour, an increase of 25 cents. "Manitoba's economy is growing and this raise in the minimum wage will help ensure the benefits of that growth are shared more fairly," said Labour and Immigration Minister Nancy Allan in a news release. For full-time minimum wage workers, the increase will mean an additional $500 per year before taxes. The boost will see all full-time workers make at least $14,000 per year before taxes. The last increases, both 25 cents per hour each, came in April of 2002 and 2003. "Our approach has been to adjust the rate gradually and in smaller increments," said Allan. "This implementation method is more fair and manageable for an employer while still allowing us to increase the purchasing power of low income earners." Manitoba will have the sixth-highest minimum wage in Canada once the new rate kicks in. As of April 1, 2004, Nunavut will have the highest rate at $8.50 per hour. It will be followed by Northwest Territories ($8.25); B.C. ($8); Quebec; ($7.30); Yukon ($7.20); Ontario ($7.15); Manitoba ($7.00); Saskatchewan ($6.65); Prince Edward Island ($6.50); Nova Scotia ($6.50); New Brunswick ($6.00); Newfoundland and Labrador ($6.00); and Alberta ($5.90). Manitoba's new increase wasn't enough to satisfy an organization that claims to lobby for "economic justice." The Just Income Coalition had called on the province to up the minimum wage to $7.75 per hour by the end of 2003.
