Vancouver Council calls on Campbell government to increase minimum wage to $10
BC Federation Of Labour
April 24, 2009

Vancouver City Council passed a motion yesterday afternoon calling for a $10 per hour minimum wage, indexing of the minimum wage to inflation and the elimination of the $6 per hour training wage.

Speaking in support of the motion, Mayor Gregor Robertson said the provincial government has effectively downloaded poverty onto local government by freezing the minimum wage.

In his remarks, Councillor David Cadman said the current minimum wage is an impediment to the Livable Region Strategy because it increases demand on the region’s public transit system from thousands of low paid workers who cannot afford to live near their workplaces….

Councillor Susan Anton called the $6 per hour training wage "reprehensible", but was the lone vote against the motion.

Vancouver now joins 34 other municipal councils which have already passed motions calling for a $10 minimum wage. The Union of BC Municipalities has also endorsed the increase.

BC’s minimum wage was the highest in Canada when Gordon Campbell was first elected Premier in 2001. Frozen for eight years, it is now tied for lowest in the country with New Brunswick and PEI, both of which have planned increases for later this year.

Because of the high cost of living, BC has long had the lowest minimum wage in terms of buying power. Approximately 293,000 workers in BC earn $10 per hour or less. In 2007, Gordon Campbell voted himself a 54 percent pay raise which took his annual salary to $186,000.