Minimum wage to increase to $10.65 on April 1
Current standard of $10.30 an hour is the lowest minimum wage in Canada
New Brunswick's minimum wage will increase to $10.65 an hour on April 1, 2016.
The minimum wage has stood at $10.30 an hour since Dec. 31, 2014 and is currently the lowest in Canada.
The three Maritime provinces recently agreed to align their respective minimum wage increases.
"Aligning the timing of the minimum wage increases will reduce costs for businesses operating in more than one province by minimizing the number of times they have to make administrative changes," said Premier Brian Gallant in a news release.
Pauline Richard, a spokesperson with the Common Front for Social Justice, welcomes the increase but is calling for the province to develop a plan to establish a minimum wage of $15 an hour as soon as possible.
Richard noted that Nova Scotia's minimum wage is currently $10.60 an hour with a cost-of-living increase scheduled for April. The minimum wage in Prince Edward Island is $10.50, with increases scheduled in June and October that will boost it to $11 an hour. The current rate in Newfoundland and Labrador is $10.50.
"We ask the province to tell us, as has done PEI, what will be the future minimum wage increases," said Richard. "But more importantly, it should plan, as quickly as possible, for a minimum wage of $15 an hour," she said.
New Brunswick has promised to increase the minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2017.
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