SUMMERSIDE — Raising the minimum wage is not the best way to strengthen the business community and provide better pay for workers, says Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce president Jonathan Greenan.
“A few years ago we did canvass (businesses) and they weren’t generally supportive of an increase in the minimum wage,” Greenan said. “Where we stand on it is it helps some, but not all workers. It does impact the bottom line for businesses, in particular for small business. It can sometimes result in employers choosing, either to limit the hours that they are giving out to people, or to reduce the positions they might have been hiring, otherwise it means that they have to pay at the higher wage.”
Minimum wage in Prince Edward Island will increase to $10.50 per hour effective July 1.
The current minimum wage for Prince Edward Island is $10.35 per hour, that rate came into effect on Oct. 1.
Minimum wage across Canada ranges from $10 in New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories, to $11 in Ontario and Nunavut.
While on the surface, it seems to be a boost for the worker, Greenan said there is a better way and a more effective way to put more money in workers' bank accounts.
“It’s not necessarily what we would see in the business community as the best means of achieving some of the objectives that government would be seeking,” he said.
“If you choose to adopt policies and programs that allow businesses to grow out of that natural, economic growth, you’re going to see a positive, upward pressure on wages and on opportunities in general.
“As businesses are successful, then that is ultimately going to translate into better employment opportunities for the public and typically higher wages because businesses are making more money. And, in order to attract and maintain a valuable workforce, they’re going to have to be competitive with other businesses in the private sector.”
Greenan said prosperity in the province, in Prince County and Summerside, is entirely dependent upon having a successful private sector.
“This kind of measure, minimum wage increase, it serves certainly a social purpose from government’s perspective but it doesn’t necessarily go a long way in terms of the overall economic well being of the province,” he said.
The chamber said with the likelihood of a provincial election in the coming year, the board of directors will be talking to the membership about the minimum wage hike and “a great number of things.”
SUMMERSIDE — Raising the minimum wage is not the best way to strengthen the business community and provide better pay for workers, says Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce president Jonathan Greenan.
“A few years ago we did canvass (businesses) and they weren’t generally supportive of an increase in the minimum wage,” Greenan said. “Where we stand on it is it helps some, but not all workers. It does impact the bottom line for businesses, in particular for small business. It can sometimes result in employers choosing, either to limit the hours that they are giving out to people, or to reduce the positions they might have been hiring, otherwise it means that they have to pay at the higher wage.”
Minimum wage in Prince Edward Island will increase to $10.50 per hour effective July 1.
The current minimum wage for Prince Edward Island is $10.35 per hour, that rate came into effect on Oct. 1.
Minimum wage across Canada ranges from $10 in New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories, to $11 in Ontario and Nunavut.
While on the surface, it seems to be a boost for the worker, Greenan said there is a better way and a more effective way to put more money in workers' bank accounts.
“It’s not necessarily what we would see in the business community as the best means of achieving some of the objectives that government would be seeking,” he said.
“If you choose to adopt policies and programs that allow businesses to grow out of that natural, economic growth, you’re going to see a positive, upward pressure on wages and on opportunities in general.
“As businesses are successful, then that is ultimately going to translate into better employment opportunities for the public and typically higher wages because businesses are making more money. And, in order to attract and maintain a valuable workforce, they’re going to have to be competitive with other businesses in the private sector.”
Greenan said prosperity in the province, in Prince County and Summerside, is entirely dependent upon having a successful private sector.
“This kind of measure, minimum wage increase, it serves certainly a social purpose from government’s perspective but it doesn’t necessarily go a long way in terms of the overall economic well being of the province,” he said.
The chamber said with the likelihood of a provincial election in the coming year, the board of directors will be talking to the membership about the minimum wage hike and “a great number of things.”
