Workers' groups call for Quebec to increase minimum wage to $18 per hour
Workers and a coalition of community groups are calling for minimum wage in Quebec to be bumped up to $18 an hour, a $4.50 raise.
“The cost of life has increased in the past months and $18 per hour, it won't take as much for the employers, because it's a minimum of their global costs for the employees,” Christian Daigle, president of union group the Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec (SFPQ).
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on salaries and essential work, with many critical jobs offering the minimum wage of $13,50. That includes those who staffed seniors’ residences the past two years, said Cheolki Yoon of the Immigrant Workers’ Centre.
“They're mostly paid minimum wage and working hard, mostly working the night shift and no prospect of increasing their wage,” Yoon said.
Marie-Josee Encarnaso, a grandmother of four, said that in her 26 years of working in men's clothing manufacturing, she has never topped $15 an hour.
“I get $14.88 an hour and for us to make a little extra money… we have to work overtime," she said.
Encarnaso said she plans to have her family over for the holidays, but that it’s an event for which she’ll need to save up.
“If you have the family over for a weekend, you’ve got to feed seven,” she said. “It comes out expensive on a grocery budget. It's expensive.”
Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet said his government is still consulting on the issue of a minimum wage increase.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.