Brad Davidson wrote

Colin, yes Vancouver is a beautiful city, but the price of real estate alone make it cost prohibitive. Can't imagine where those making minimum wage live. I guess if you could find several roomates

Colin Verbree wrote

Denise, I don't think it is solely about how hard people work... it is about the skill and talent you bring to a job, and how valuable you are. Minimum wage jobs generally have none or few prerequisites to get a job.

Colin Verbree wrote

Brad, I can't imagine living in Vancouver making only 20/hour. Its hard enough to live in a smaller city for that wage.

Denise Marsh wrote

Yes...many of the people that are working minimum wage jobs work ten times harder than clerical jobs that pay double their salary per hour. In addition the manual labor alone merits credit. Many people that work these jobs have families to

Cathy Young wrote

Yes. The original purpose of minimum wage was to guarantee a living wage for workers, and it should adhere to its mandate.

Henry McLean Jr. wrote

Yes

Paula Dunbar wrote

Yes!

Brad Davidson wrote

According to www.livingwageforfamilies.ca the living wage for Vancouver is $20.62 per hour. What small business owner can afford to pay that and stay in business? Conversely who could afford to live in Vancouver on minimum wage?

Rick Allan wrote

Real estate and rent continue to climb as do gas prices, car insurance and food so I say most definitely , the minimum wage need to be increased.

Jeff Paulso wrote

I guess it depends on what you consider livable? I am not against the new $15 minimum, but I suppose it doesn't apply to everyone..

Colin Verbree wrote

The problem lies in expectations - many people who make minimum wage want it to be more because they don't want to compromise..

Colin Verbree wrote

Katie - I think minimum wage is sufficient to support typical expenses. However, that means compromise - taking the bus instead of having a car - not going out to nice restaurants, having a roommate etc.

Trevor wrote

Minimum wage has never been a living wage as far as i remember.You always had to make ends meet with a second job or a roommate.

Katie Emm wrote

If the minimum wage is not sufficient to support the typical expenses (rent, food, transportation) of those earning the least, then it serves no beneficial purpose to anyone.

Nick Tuono wrote

There is a fine line between balancing what is best for the individual workers with what is best for the economy.

James Lament wrote

It is true that minimum wage should be raised in order to keep pace with our economy and living expenses.

Jane Martins wrote

Totally agree Barb Lopes

Colin Verbree wrote

I agree Barb - I do not think minimum wage was ever meant to be a livable wage. If it goes up, small businesses, and the whole economy, in turn will suffer.

Barb Lopes wrote

I believe it will never be a living wage, nor was it ever meant to be. If we keep increasing minimum wage, small businesses will have to raise their prices. The government is the only beneficiary, as they will collect more taxes.

Brad Davidson wrote

It is difficult enough for small retail business owners to compete with the likes of Big Box stores and Amazon. Pushing the minimum wage will only exacerbate the stressors on these small businesses.

Jane Martins wrote

I think if this happens then many small Mom & Pop businesses will go out of business. Is this what society wants? I don't.

Colin Verbree wrote

completely agree Carmelo. I don't entry level jobs are designed to be careers for people - they are about getting work experience, and learning to be a good employee.

Carmelo wrote

No i don't. i believe that will put small business's at risk and they will be apprehensive about hiring employees. Minimum wage is there so employers aren't gauging employees, but we need those entry level jobs for students and inexperienc

Moses Jackson wrote

cont'd... would be in a small town in Alberta for example.

Moses Jackson wrote

Yes Living Wage is absolutely a regional phenom. A living wage in Vancouver would have to be significantly more than it.....

Colin Verbree wrote

And then people will be pissed off anyways... I certainly don't want to pay $8 for my coffee in the morning...

Colin Verbree wrote

And, as a previous small business owner, there is not enough room to pay people more than what minimum wage is right now unless prices go up

Colin Verbree wrote

Doctors deserve to be paid more than Starbucks employees. Why should they get a huge wage increase while the rest of society stays the same?

Colin Verbree wrote

In a perfect world, yes. But I think we are so far past that as a society that it will never be possible.

Jb wrote

Short answer, yes. However, it would be hard to define what a living wage is because it would depend on the individual circumstances. For example, a young adult living with their parents has different expenses to a single mum. Location also has an effect on how much someone needs to get by. The current minimum wage does not appear to reflect the real cost of living for most people, so it should definitely be increased. As a society, we should striving for a better solution.

Brad Davidson wrote

It would obviously benefit the worker so yeah I think so. The only possible issue of course would be the small business employers and whether their business would be able to support an increase wage payment.

Brendan Shaw wrote

Yeah why not?