Advocacy Work

Statement on Minimum Wage Hike

Nov 2, 2021

Today, Rocco Rossi, President & CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce, released the following statement in reaction to the Government of Ontario’s proposed minimum wage hike set for January 1, 2022. The Guelph Chamber of Commerce is supportive of the below statement. 

“We are in favour of fair compensation and wage increases that are planned and done in consultation with the business community so that businesses have time to plan and implement the changes. We also recognize that workers have been impacted by the pandemic and higher cost of living.”

“Many businesses are still grappling with the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, including cashflow constraints and the increased cost of doing business; this is no time to add to their costs. The way the proposed changes are being implemented, leaving employers with less than two months to plan, will have considerable administrative and financial impact amidst a pandemic and after 20 months of duress.

“We are disappointed in the lack of consultation on such a significant policy shift and departure from the scheduled wage increases. It is dangerous to bring in major new labour reforms without addressing or protecting against unintended consequences, such as job losses, rising consumer costs, service cuts, and economic hardship for businesses and our greater economy.

“We ask the Government of Ontario to work with us and other business organizations to ensure that a sudden and unplanned minimum wage hike does not do more harm than good. The government needs to re-evaluate the timeline and consider debt forgiveness for impacted businesses to support this unanticipated change in policy.

“We look forward to working with the government in reviewing the current minimum wage, to ensure any increases are tied to fair and transparent reasons, with sufficient notice to allow business owners to prepare.”

To read the province's news release, please click here.

We welcome feedback to chamber@guelphchamber.com