Statement in the Legislature on the Living Wage Policy

Statement in the BC Legislature on Tuesday, May 18, 2010

D. Black: Last month the city council in my community of New Westminster made history by becoming the first municipal government in Canada to enact a living wage policy. The council unanimously passed a resolution that commits the city to establishing a living wage policy that is tied to an hourly rate, which will be set each year. The policy will apply to both full- and part-time employees, regardless of the value of the contract or the number of employees. It will apply to employees who perform work on city premises or properties.

A living wage has been defined as enough to keep a family of two working adults and two children above the poverty line. For New Westminster, that works out to $16.74 an hour. This is more than twice the amount of B.C.'s minimum wage of $8 an hour, now the lowest in Canada.

While the living wage policy has been successfully spreading throughout the United States, here in Canada the issue is just beginning to make itself felt. I congratulate the members of New Westminster city council and the citizens in my community who worked together to bring about this historic victory for working families. This is another first for western Canada's first city.