Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Wildrose MLA Nathan Cooper says he's is glad the provincial government is holding consultations with stakeholders on its plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour – but he's disappointed they're not willing to consider scrapping that hike in today's tough economy.
Labour Minister Christina Gray has announced plans to hold “focused consultations” over the next month with key stakeholders, including employers, social service organizations and low-income earners.
Reports say the current minimum wage in Alberta is $11.20 an hour.
Her department says discussion topics will include future increases, meal and lodging deductions and the phase-out of the differential liquor server rate.
However, she indicated the minimum wage will increase to $15 an hour. It's just a question of how.
“We're committed to bringing Alberta's general minimum wage up to $15 per hour to give lower-income Albertans the ability to support their families. We want to take the time to listen to the people directly involved and make sure we get this right,” Gray said in a news release.
Cooper was critical of that approach during an interview with the Gazette.
“It's my understanding that they're not actually consulting on whether or not to increase the minimum wage to $15, but when and how fast to do it,” Cooper said.
“It's a bit like shutting the barn door once the horse is out. They have made a decision that a $15 minimum wage is a path that they're going to go down. So to ‘consult' now is certainly a unique choice.
“The question they should be asking small businesses and employers is ‘is this possible? Is this feasible? What are the real implications of increasing the minimum wage?' Not ‘how and when should we do this?'”
Cooper said the hike to $15 an hour could actually backfire and eliminate jobs, rather than improve lives for low-income people, as the government predicts.
“As always, one of our significant concerns is that increasing the minimum wage will actually cost jobs across Alberta – not add to jobs – thus, hurting the people the most who they're trying to help,” he said.
Cooper said as the wage hike increases costs, employers – especially those in small- or medium-sized businesses – will likely cut back on the number of minimum-wage employees they hire or keep on the payroll.
“It will certainly reduce the amount of labour that they can afford. As a result, there'll be people who have no jobs because of the increase,” Cooper said.
“Even the government's own documents inside the department have suggested that that is a significant risk,” he added.
Cooper said the NDP Opposition in Nova Scotia has also called for that province to increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour, but he said after looking at the situation in Alberta, its proposal says small business and small employers should be exempt from that increase.
“While we don't believe a $15 (an hour) minimum wage is in the right direction, even the NDP in Nova Scotia recognizes that it presents unique and significant challenges for small businesses and small employers,” Cooper said.
Cooper is also the Opposition Wildrose Party's house leader.
He says although to his knowledge, his party has not been officially invited to attend the consultation meetings on the minimum wage, he anticipates that Wildrose jobs, skills training and labour critic Grant Hunter will attend them.
He says his party will also continue to raise the matter in the legislature.
“We are consistently asking questions on this issue,” Cooper said.
“We also had a motion before the assembly three weeks ago asking for the government to provide economic impact studies on the increase in the minimum wage prior to proceeding.
“We tried to pass that motion. Unfortunately it wasn't successful, because the government is committed to their ideological agenda.”
"It's a bit like shutting the barn door once the horse is out. They have made a decision that a $15 minimum wage is a path that they're going to go down. So to 'consult' now is certainly a unique choice."NATHAN COOPEROLDS-DIDSBURY-THREE HILLS MLA
