$10 minimum wage fight gains

$10 minimum wage fight gains

TORONTO–Paul Ferreira, NDP candidate for York South-Weston, says if Dalton McGuinty can give himself a $40,000 pay hike, he can raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour.

“Every working person in Ontario deserves a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work and no one working full time should be forced to live in poverty. If the McGuinty Liberals can give themselves a 31% pay hike, they can give hard working families a minimum wage of $10 an hour,” said Ferreira.

Ferreira said Dalton McGuinty has his priorities all wrong after a SES poll released today revealed 84 per cent of Ontarians oppose the MPP pay hike.

Ferreira and Cheri DiNovo, NDP MPP Parkdale-High Park, spent the day talking to local residents and small business owners about raising the minimum wage to a fair wage. Last fall, DiNovo introduced a private member’s bill, Living Wage Act, to increase Ontario’s minimum wage to $10 an hour.

“Ontario is Canada’s second wealthiest province and too many families can’t keep their children out of poverty. Over 1.2 million hard-working women and men are stuck in poverty. One in six children in this wealthy province live in poverty. Thousands depend on food banks. It’s time we took action to end this provincial shame,” DiNovo said.

“Raising the minimum wage would benefit our local small businesses. It’s been proven that people with low and moderate incomes spend their money in the community, at neighbourhood stores and on local services. Jurisdictions with minimum wages above $10 an hour still have prosperous economies that create jobs. Raising the minimum wage is good for the community of York South-Weston, including small businesses,” said Ferreira.

The NDP, Toronto and York Region Labour Council and local community organizations have launched the ‘Campaign to Win the $10 Minimum Wage’ – a series of community events to support the Living Wage Act.

(PRESS RELEASE)