THUNDER BAY — Effective Oct. 1, the Ontario government will increase the minimum wage from $16.55 per hour to $17.20, which will impact some employers, a business advocate says.
"Whenever the minimum wage goes up, it means that everybody else wants to see the same increase," Robinson said. "But definitely in these really challenging times when we know that disposable income is not what it was, people aren't spending on extras right now, the way that maybe they have previously because costs have gone up so quickly," she said.
Robinson pointed out that many of these businesses are also trying to pay off their pandemic-era Canada Emergency Business Account loans, which is an added cost that they haven't been dealing with previously.