This Ontario city just became the largest in the province to officially pay employees a living wage
The City of St. Catharines is the largest and latest municipality in Ontario to be designated an official Living Wage Employer.
In doing so, the city has pledged to pay a living wage to all full-time employees. They’ve also said they'll extend that promise to part-time employees and craft procurement policy for third-party contractors by Dec. 2024.
Living wage is defined as the hourly rate needed to cover the actual costs of living in a community, unlike minimum wage, which is the lowest hourly rate an employer is legally permitted to pay a worker.
According to data from the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) released in Nov. 2021, a living wage for the Niagara Region is estimated at $18.90 per hour.
Staff from OLWN and the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network joined the St. Catharines City Council meeting Monday night to make the announcement.
"We hope that this just continues the growth of the living wage work across the region and that we continue to see more and more employers signing on in the years to come," Lori Kleinsmith, from the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network, said in the meeting.
"This marks our largest employer in terms of sheer number of people who work for the city of St. Catharines," she said.
Councillor Greg Miller announced the designation on social media Monday as well, thanking staff for “seeing the process through.”
“The City of St. Catharines is now a Certified Living Wage Employer,” Miller wrote.
‘We are now the largest certified Living Wage employer in Niagara and the largest certified municipality in Ontario.”
In Feb. 2021, St. Catharines council voted unanimously to apply to become a living wage employer through OLWN.
ONTARIO LIVING WAGE NETWORK
St. Catharines is one of 23 regions the Ontario Living Wage Network has calculated a living wage for.
The Ontario Living Wage Network devised the calculation methodology in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives B.C and Ontario offices, who were responsible for creating the standardized "National Living Wage Framework".
In Toronto, they’ve set the living wage at $22.08 per hour as of Nov. 2021 – the highest in Ontario.
The region with the lowest calculated living wage is Sault Saint Marie at $16.20 per hour.
To view all the living wages calculated by OLWN, see the interactive map below.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.