Nova Scotia needs a $15 minimum wage

Halifax-- NDP Leader Gary Burrill made the following statement in reaction to today’s announcement that the Minister of Labour has accepted the recommendations of the minimum wage review panel:

“Any increase that does not get us on track to reach a $15 minimum wage does not go far enough to encourage the kind of economic growth we need. Under the Liberals’ plan, Nova Scotia’s minimum wage in 2021 will be lower than what workers in Ontario, Alberta, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories make today. Our economic growth will continue to stall without the purchasing power created by a $15 minimum wage.”

Based on the committee’s recommendations, the minimum wage in Nova Scotia would increase to $12.10 in 2020 and $12.65 in 2021. The NDP introduced legislation this fall that would see Nova Scotia’s minimum wage increase to $15 by 2020.

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