Bruce Grey’s Living Wage increased by 9.6% for 2023 to $22.75 per hour. Calculations released Monday show a living wage for a family of four in Bruce Grey is pegged at $22 an hour for each working parent this year. A single person needs to earn $23.01 per hour for 40 hours, and a single parent with two kids needs to earn $27.20 to pay for basic needs.
Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force Co-ordinator Jill Umbach said the calculation includes shelter, food, transportation and childcare, along with internet access, a modest annual vacation, and clothing. Any applicable government taxes, transfers, and benefits are factored in as well. The calculations don't include items like savings, education costs, home owners, debt repayment, pets or social engagements.
"So it's important to know what do we need to live on. We saw under the pandemic that people were making more money on the service, you know, and that was a guaranteed income supplement that was really important, and kept a lot of people afloat, and allowed them to stay in their home," she explained. "And so the poverty task force does advocate for a living wage as well as a guaranteed income supplement."
“The most significant driver for the increase has been the cost of housing and the lack of local employment transportation. The recent inflationary issues for food and other consumable costs also has had a significant impact upon the calculation” explained Executive Director Francesca Dobbyn. “This is the bottom, this is the barely making a budget work Living Wage.”
"We are seeing a lot of singles that are not able to keep their homes," Umbach added. "In particular, we've been seeing a lot of seniors who have been able to afford the rent as a couple, or even to afford their own home, and the mortgage, as a couple, but with one of them having passed, becoming a single, it's been challenging. And so we're seeing an increase in the number of people that are actually homeless, that were secure before, but through circumstances, being single now, can't afford to stay where they should be, which is at home."
Umbach stressed work should lift employees out of poverty.
“With the significant increases to the cost of housing we see locally, people are working, but homeless, living in cars while sliding further and further into poverty," she said. “In addition, reports indicate that people working in the lowest-paying jobs are less likely to have seen any increase in wages during the year and are more likely to be working in industries where part-time work is the norm.”
Umbach urged politicians to move away from relying on a food charity model to public policies that increase the incomes of vulnerable households in the community.
"Somebody, quite frankly, that could be working two to three jobs, is still not making enough money," she pointed out. "So the question from the poverty taskforce is really around why are these people not making that money. We need employers to recognize that and know at this time that the cost of living has gone up and inflation is having an impact, and therefore things need to change."
She concluded that the recent Food Banks Canada 2023 Hunger Count reported a 32 per cent increase in the number of people accessing food banks. One third of food bank users are children.
