Salary increases still above inflation; CFIB calls for Ont. minimum wage freeze; Steep job losses in manufacturing over last four years; Alta. predicting job losses and deficit
Salary increases still above inflation
CFIB calls for Ont. minimum wage freeze
Toronto — The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling on the Ontario government to cancel the Mar. 31 increase in the minimum wage, citing the deteriorating state of the economy. At $8.75, Ontario’s minimum wage is second only to Nunavut at $10 an hour. Instead of helping the working poor, minimum wage increases are hurting the very people who are in a position to help, namely small- and medium-sized employers, said CFIB’s Ontario director Satinder Chera. Instead of raising the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour, CFIB is calling on the government to help people upgrade their skills to qualify for better-paying jobs and increasing the amount people can earn without paying provincial income tax.
Steep job losses in manufacturing over last four years Ottawa — Canada lost nearly 322,000 manufacturing jobs from 2004 to 2008, with more than one in seven manufacturing jobs disappearing over the period, according to “Trends in manufacturing employment” from Statistics Canada. Only a few industries saw job growth, notably manufacturing of transportation equipment (excluding motor vehicles and parts), petroleum and coal products, and computer and electronic products. The textiles and clothing industry lost almost one-half of its jobs over the four-year period and one in five motor vehicle parts manufacturing jobs were lost. Ontario lost the majority of manufacturing jobs, with 198,600 job losses, or 18.1 per cent of the province’s manufacturing jobs. Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Quebec, British Columbia and Nova Scotia also lost more than 10 per cent of their manufacturing jobs.
Alta. predicting job losses and deficit
