$15 minimum wage will hurt young people most, says Surrey Board of Trade
"Especially a small and medium size business, every single expense matters. The bottom line matters."
The Surrey Board of Trade says raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour would hurt the city's economy — and would hurt young people the most.
NDP leader John Horgan has promised to increase B.C.'s minimum wage to $15 per hour if elected in next spring's provincial election.
- B.C. minimum wage now the lowest in Canada
- BC NDP promises $15 per hour minimum wage if elected in 2017
"An election platform related to $15 per hour — that requires a lot of dialogue with the business community," said Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman Friday.
"We're in a very global economic dependent economy and we are a trading nation also, so when governments are looking at increasing minimum wage, those things need to come into play," she said.
The current minimum wage is $10.45 an hour, the lowest in Canada according to the Retail Council of Canada. It is set to rise by 40 cents to $10.85 per hour on Sept. 15. An increase to $11.25 per hour is scheduled for Sept. 15, 2017.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCLabour?src=hash">#BCLabour</a> knows we will <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/fightfor15?src=hash">#fightfor15</a>! A warm welcome at <a href="https://twitter.com/bcfed">@BCFED</a>'s Labour Day BBQ in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Burnaby?src=hash">#Burnaby</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bcndp?src=hash">#bcndp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bcpoli?src=hash">#bcpoli</a> <a href="https://t.co/SvTg3rpRQ9">pic.twitter.com/SvTg3rpRQ9</a>
—@jjhorganA survey by the Surrey Board of Trade showed 60 per cent of its members support an incremental increase to the provincial minimum wage, while just over 20 per cent supported a $15 per hour minimum wage.
Huberman said more information is needed.
"Number one, when you're taking a look at any business, especially a small and medium size business, every single expense matters, the bottom line matters," she said.
"So if it places too high of a burden on business they're either going to transfer that cost by increasing the cost of their product or service, or they're going to decrease staff."
Huberman believes younger workers would suffer the most if a $15 minimum forces businesses to scale back their work force.
"In Surrey a third of our population is under the age of 19. We have a very young population and some of them are being paid minimum wage. I would hate to see them compromised with a significant minimum wage hike," she said.
"I think dialogue really needs to happen with the business community before a decision like that is made to make sure that there is limited economic impact to our province."
With files by Farrah Merali