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Ontario's minimum wage will be raised to $8 an hour at the beginning of February, the fourth and final rate increase planned by the government.
The 25-cent boost will take effect on Feb. 1, 2007, as part of an increase phased in by the Ontario Liberals over the past four years.
Minimum wage was frozen at $6.85 an hour for nine years starting in 1995.
The Liberals decided to phase in a wage increase over a four-year period when they took power in 2003 to allow businesses time to adjust and remain competitive, the Ontario government said in a press release Wednesday.
The minimum wage rate was increased by 30 cents three years in a row starting on Feb. 1, 2004, with a slightly lower increase of 25 cents set for the final year.
In November, a private member's bill seeking to raise the province's minimum wage to $10 an hour made it as far as second reading at Queen's Park. Premier Dalton McGuinty called the large increase impractical.
Under the wage rate hike, students under 18, liquor servers, and hunting and fishing guides will also see their minimum pay increase on Feb. 1.
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