Minimum wage hike a boost to Barrie workers, seen as positive by businesses
The Ontario minimum wage now stands at $15.50 an hour, a 50-cent increase.
This comes when the cost of living has reached record highs after inflation reached a four-decade mark in June.
Anshul Bisht moved to Barrie from India in August to attend Georgian College. The 26-year-old was shocked by the price of food and everyday essentials.
According to Statistics Canada, groceries alone rose nearly 11 percent since last year, leaving Bisht to cut down on his spending and pursue a job in the community to get by while he studies in Ontario.
"I heard on the news that minimum wage is going up. It's great!" said Bisht. "It's more difficult for us to manage our daily needs."
Bisht found employment at Birds Nest, a downtown Barrie funnel cake and waffle cafe, that opened in June.
For many Barrie-area businesses, the pandemic devastated revenue and depleted staffing levels. The Barrie Chamber of Commerce said the hourly increase is a step in the right direction to make life more affordable in Simcoe County.
"It's a necessary evil, you've got costs going up on fuel on groceries and everything else, so it does get us closer to a living number," said Paul Markle, the executive director. "But it still has a long way to go to make this something you can afford to live on."
According to Markle, there were 7,500 new jobs created in Simcoe County in August with 11,000 job openings.
The chamber said many unfilled jobs are concerning as businesses struggle to recruit and balance the rising cost of products.
"When covid first hit, we were only making $12.20 an hour, so it's a great thing to have now but at the same time there's no staff," said Kristin Forder, the manager at Cottage Canoe in Barrie.
The province of Ontario indicated that the minimum wage rates would increase each year on October 1.
The newest rates could be announced on or before April 1, 2023
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.