As part of their demands for a higher minimum wage, a hodgepodge of unions, activists and community groups marched 15 kilometres from Lionel-Groulx metro station to Jarry Park on Sunday.
The length of the march was symbolic of the demand for a $15-per-hour minimum wage.
Jasmin De La Calzada, a member of the Filipino Women’s Association in Quebec – also known as PINAY – said the issue is important to her group due to the high number of immigrants and migrant workers in her community.
“They are put in a precarious situation, a lot of the work they do is under vulnerable situations,” she said. “They come here from the Philippines on the wish they will be working on a better situation and better life but when they come here, they realize it’s not so easy. There’s lots of situations where they have to work overtime and deal with employers who are not so nice.”
She added that many are paying not only for their own living expenses in Canada, but also sending money to families back home and have fees associated with applying for permanent residency. She said a $15 minimum wage would make saving easier and would allow them to contribute more to the economy.
In July, the Ontario government announced a plan to increase minimum wage to $15-per-hour by Jan. 1, 2019 while in Alberta will hit that mark in 2018 and in British Columbia the minimum wage will reach that amount in 2021.
