Price of rental housing drives up cost of living in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, report finds
Metro Vancouver remains most expensive place in B.C. to live
The minimum living wage needed to live comfortably in the Fraser Valley region has increased dramatically due to high rental rates, according to a report released Wednesday by the Living Wage for Families campaign.
The living wage is the annually calculated hourly wage needed to cover the cost of raising a family. It's meant to represent the hourly wage that two working parents with two young children must earn to meet basic expenses like rent, child care, food and transportation.
According to the report, high rental costs raised the living wage needed to reside in the Fraser Valley from $15.90 an hour in 2017 to $17.40 in 2018.
The report also shows the minimum hourly salary needed for a living wage is highest in Metro Vancouver, where it jumped this year from $20.61 to $20.91.
Government taxes, credits, deductions and subsidies are all included in the calculation.
"Part of what held off those wage increases [in Metro Vancouver] were two policy initiatives introduced by the provincial government," said Deanna Ogle, a campaign organizer with Living Wage for Families.
Ogler credited both the 50 per cent reduction in MSP premiums and the recent Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative for being effective in keeping Metro Vancouver's living wage low.
The report — which was published in conjunction with the B.C. branch of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and First Call: B.C. Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition — provided figures for nine communities around the province.
- Greater Victoria: $20.01 to $20.50.
- Revelstoke: $18.77 to $19.37.
- Kamloops: $16.90 to $17.31
- Powell River: $16.75 to $17.15.
- Parksville/Qualicum:16.44 to $17.02,
- Comox Valley $15.96 to $16.59
- North Central B.C.: $16.39 to $16.51.
Ogler said that while public policy and legislation can positively affect people, it can only go so far. She said maximum rent increases need to be implemented in B.C. or the increasing cost of housing will swamp any other affordability measures taken by government.
B.C. Chamber of Commerce CEO Val Litwin said the burden can not fall solely on businesses to provide high wages to their employees. He said, in many cases, Metro Vancouver businesses simply can't afford to pay their employees $20.91 an hour.
Litwin said part of the answer lies in targeted government programs — like the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative — in order to bring down the cost of living.
With files from B.C. Almanac