Nova Scotia’s Minimum Wage Review Committee recommends that the government raise the province’s hourly minimum wage rate to $15 six months earlier than planned.
In a December 2022 report, the committee proposed that the minimum wage rate increase from $13.60 to $14.50 on April 1, 2023 and to $15 on October 1, 2023. It also recommended that the government implement a new formula for setting the minimum wage rate on April 1, 2024 instead of April 1, 2025. The committee, made up of employer and employee representatives, reviews the minimum wage every year.
Last year, following recommendations the committee made in December 2021, the government announced a series of rate hikes that will raise the minimum wage to $14.30 on April 1, 2023, $14.65 on October 1, 2023, and $15 on April 1, 2024. Beginning April 1, 2025, the government plans to implement a rate-hike formula that adjusts the rate based on the percentage change in the projected annual consumer price index for the preceding calendar year plus 1%.
The committee said inflationary pressures led it to revise its December 2021 recommendations.
“Due to the unforeseen and significant increase in inflation for the 2022 calendar year – and what is now forecast for the 2023 calendar year – the increases to minimum wage recommended in the December 2021 report will not have the expected impact on the purchasing power of minimum wage earners,” the committee said in its December 2022 report.
“With these considerations in mind, the Committee felt the previously recommended increases to the minimum wage would need to be accelerated, but that moving to $15.00 per hour too rapidly would make it too difficult for businesses to absorb the increased cost of labour,” said the committee.
Labour, Skills and Immigration Minister Jill Balser said the government would consult with community partners before deciding whether to implement the committee’s proposals.
We will continue to monitor this story and will report on further developments in upcoming releases.