National

B.C. minimum wage increases by 45 cents per hour starting June 1

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Feb, 2025 12:43 PM

The British Columbia government says the province's lowest-paid workers are getting a wage boost to keep pace with inflation.

The Ministry of Labour says the minimum wage will increase from $17.40 to $17.85 per hour starting in June.

It says the 2.6 per cent increase follows changes made last spring to the Employment Standards Act, which mandated yearly wage rises.

Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside says those adjustments were made last year because minimum-wage workers are most vulnerable to jumps in prices for living expenses like groceries, rent and gas.

The province says the changes align with government priorities to help lift more people out of poverty, make life more affordable, and build a strong and fair economy for B.C.

It says minimum wage rates increase on June 1 each year, except for the minimum agricultural piece rates that increase on Dec. 31 to ensure crop producers will not have to adjust wages in the middle of the harvesting season.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Emergency alert test coming as B.C. mops up from 'bomb cyclone' with high winds

A test for Canada's emergency alert system is set to take place just as British Columbia cleans up from a so-called "bomb cyclone" weather system that cut power and battered parts of the coast with hurricane-force winds. The national alert system is typically tested twice a year, with the next test set to take place today at 1:55 p.m. Pacific time.

Emergency alert test coming as B.C. mops up from 'bomb cyclone' with high winds

B.C. port union challenges constitutionality of labour minister's back-to-work order

The union representing port supervisors in British Columbia is formally challenging the legal and constitutional authority of the federal labour minister to order them back to work. In a legal document dated Tuesday, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 says it's questioning whether the order issued by Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon last week violates the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike.

B.C. port union challenges constitutionality of labour minister's back-to-work order

Some Canadian cities building temporary housing facilities to accommodate refugees

A significant increase in the number of refugees and asylum seekers in Canada has prompted some cities to start building temporary housing for new arrivals. The city of Ottawa is working to establish what's known as a sprung structure that serves as both a temporary shelter and a centre to provide settlement services such as language training and employment assistance.

Some Canadian cities building temporary housing facilities to accommodate refugees

Trial sees texts between men accused in migrants' deaths by Manitoba-Minnesota border

The trial of two men accused of human smuggling is getting a look at messages the prosecution says prove the pair conspired to sneak people across the Canada-United States border. Steve Shand and Harshkumar Patel have pleaded not guilty to charges of organizing several illegal crossings of Indian nationals from Manitoba to Minnesota in late 2021 and early 2022.

Trial sees texts between men accused in migrants' deaths by Manitoba-Minnesota border

Canadians favour government intervention in Canada Post, port labour disputes: poll

Polling firm Leger found 63 per cent of respondents to a new survey were in favour of the Liberal government's move to step in and ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order a resumption of port operations and move negotiations into binding arbitration. Nineteen per cent were opposed, and another 19 per cent said they didn't know.

Canadians favour government intervention in Canada Post, port labour disputes: poll

Bomb cyclone batters B.C. with hurricane-force winds, cutting roads and power

Hurricane-force winds of up to 170 km/h have slammed into parts of the British Columbia coast as a massive storm swirling off Vancouver Island severed highways and cut power to more than 200,000 people overnight. Winds from the bomb cyclone weather system exceeded 100 km/h in multiple areas late Tuesday, with gusts approaching 80 km/h at Vancouver's airport.