Despite the record-high inflation and the rising cost of everyday staples like food and gas, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said his government won't expedite a $15 minimum wage.
Speaking to reporters at the Halifax Shipyard on Wednesday, Houston said he understands it's a tough time for Nova Scotians and Canadians.
"We know it (inflation) is having an incredibly negative impact on people," said Houston.
But when asked if he would fast-track the minimum wage increase to $15 an hour, the premier said it’s not something his government is looking at changing right now.
Earlier this year, the Houston PC government accepted a recommendation from the Nova Scotia minimum wage review committee, that would see the minimum wage rise to $13.60 an hour in October and then to $15 by April 2024.
"A lot of work went into that committee and they laid down a path and we accepted that path," said Houston. "To veer from that is not something we are looking at right now."
At $13.35 an hour, Nova Scotia's minimum wage remains among the lowest in the country.
And with soaring inflation, opposition parties are pressing the Houston government to address what they call "the affordability crisis."
"This government has to do something and we have heard very clearly that they plan to do nothing," said Dartmouth South NDP MLA Claudia Chender.
“Over and over again we’ve heard the Houston government say they understand the pressures families are under with rising costs, but they...
A nursing home run by the family of Kim Keon-hee lost the first trial in a lawsuit seeking to cancel the National Health Insurance Service's disposition to claw back about 1.4 billion won in long-...