British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell shot down the latest call to jack up the province's minimum wage to $10 an hour from $8.
  
B.C. Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair led a delegation to the legislature on Wednesday, demanding the increase, pointing to a decision by MLAs earlier this year to vote themselves an average 29 per cent increase in their own salaries and benefits.

Sinclair said the minimum wage has been frozen for six years despite steady increases in rent, food, fuel and other essentials, and B.C. is falling behind other provinces, like Ontario.
  
Campbell claims B.C. already has the highest minimum wage in Canada, although the Yukon wage is $8.25 an hour.
  
He also said the province has the highest employment levels in years, the highest rate of youth employment, and the average wage in the province is more than $20 an hour.
  
Labour Minister Olga Ilich said hiking the wage would be counter-productive because it would result in lost jobs for young people.
  
She said the province is focused on helping low wage earners in other ways, such as subsidized housing and lower medical premiums.