The Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce applauds the announcement of the appointment of the advisory panel on minimum wage as promised in last spring’s budget.
For several years, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has advocated for the development of a third party commission made up of business, labour and community stakeholders to review minimum wage requirements. The key element of such a commission or review board would be to ensure that minimum wage requirements follow the economic circumstances of the day.
The OCC supports the establishment of this panel, which is mandated to make minimum wage recommendations to the Ministry. In February 2011 the OCC recommended the Government: initiate an independent minimum wage review board or commission, comprising of business (representing various sectors and size), labour representatives and social groups; conduct regular minimum wage reviews that include an economic impact assessment on the provincial economy; and combine any increase to minimum wage with social measures targeted to low income Ontarians, so as not to rely heavily on operational business costs (minimum wage) to address poverty issues in the province.
