The British Columbia government is pushing the minimum wage up to $15.65 an hour, which it says is the highest among the provinces. Labour Minister Harry Bains announced Mondaythat the hourly wage will jump by 45 cents starting June 1. The increase is the first to be tied to B.C.’s annual inflation rate, which was 2.8 per cent last year. Bains said the decision to use the provincial rate of inflation rather than the national rate was made to better reflect the needs of B.C. workers. He said the increase is expected to attract more workers to the province, while providing certainty of costs for businesses. “We fully understand that businesses are still hurting coming out of the pandemic and that workers, living in one of the highest living cost areas, are still struggling,” Bains told a news conference.
