Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has confirmed that Thursday's provincial budget will include a minimum wage hike.
The Liberal government has been under pressure from the NDP to increase the minimum wage to $10 an hour from the current $8.
The premier indicated Wednesday that any minimum wage increase would be phased in over several years to keep it from hurting businesses.
"Just as it would be irresponsible for us to freeze the minimum wage indefinitely, we also think it would be irresponsible to hike it dramatically overnight," said McGuinty.
"We don’t enjoy the luxury of being wilfully blind to economic consequences of a rapid acceleration in the size of the minimum wage."
NDP MPP Cheri Di Novo said the working poor in the province can't wait three years for the minimum wage to rise.
The province's minimum wage rose to $8 an hour in February. The Liberals began increasing the minimum wage in increments of 25 or 30 cents in 2003, after it had been frozen at $6.85 for eight years.
