In the wake of a report that suggests tens of thousands of Londoners are living in extreme poverty, a London MPP is reiterating her party's call for a $15/hr minimum wage.
London Fanshawe MPP Teresa Armstrong (NDP) rose in the Legislature during Question Period on Wednesday to demand that Premier Kathleen Wynne increase the minimum wage beyond what her government has already done.
According to the Poverty Research Centre at King's University College, 35,000 Londoners live in extreme poverty. The Centre says, for an individual, that means earning an annual income of less than $11,000. For a single parent, the figure is $19,000.
Since the Ontario Liberals came to power, they have raised the minimum wage ten times, from $6.85/hr to the current level of $11.40/hr.
But Armstrong says they need to go farther.
“When people get a fair pay cheque it means they can plan a future for their families. My city has been a center of commerce, and was once a hub for good paying manufacturing jobs in southwestern Ontario,” says Armstrong. “Londoners are skilled and hardworking people; but as you have heard there are too many who are vulnerable. People need hope for the future.”
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