At a Victoria council committee meeting last week, Coun. Marianne Alto suggested a review of the city鈥檚 wage policies in light of the living-wage philosophy.
A living wage is the hourly pay needed to cover basic living costs, including food, clothing, shelter and transportation.
The Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria calculates the living wage for this region is $18.93 an hour per parent in a two-parent household. That doesn鈥檛 cover credit card and other debt payments, savings for retirement or children鈥檚 education, saving for emergencies or anything beyond minimal recreation or entertainment.
Such a wage would not be living in poverty, per se, but it does not allow a family to get ahead.
A municipal living-wage policy would ensure that a municipality would pay its workers the living wage at a minimum (Victoria already pays substantially more than that), and would require contractors who deal with the municipality to pay such a wage.
It鈥檚 an attractive idea, especially as we hear about the growing gap between rich and poor in Canada. That disparity is unhealthy 鈥� a country鈥檚 prosperity is thwarted when a disproportionate share of its wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer while the middle class, which largely drives the economy, stagnates and shrinks.
Poverty costs us all. Those who have nothing tend to cost society more in health-care and justice-system costs. If those who are just scraping by had the means to get ahead, they could contribute more to society in taxes, consumer spending and ways that can鈥檛 be measured materially.
But it鈥檚 difficult to legislate prosperity. At last week鈥檚 committee meeting, Coun. Shellie Gudgeon pointed out that a requirement to pay the living wage would be difficult for many businesses, impossible for some.
鈥淭he 鈥榣iving wage鈥� would bankrupt most of our small-business economy,鈥� she said.
Coun. Lisa Helps said many Victoria residents have annual incomes far less than the living-wage level.
A measure initiated by one municipal council, while setting a good example and perhaps benefiting a few wage-earners, could not substantially boost wage levels in the region. And it could result in higher prices that would hurt those it was intended to help.
Granted, the more money people have to spend 鈥� on comforts as well as necessities 鈥� the more money is circulated, but if higher pay is to be sustainable, it鈥檚 something that should be driven by a more robust economy, not municipal policy alone.
That doesn鈥檛 mean governments should back away from the issue. Provincial and federal governments have significant roles to play, by boosting the minimum wage, for instance. Social programs such as child-care assistance and prescription-drug coverage would help relieve strained budgets.
We hear much about the shortage of skilled workers in B.C. in sectors that pay well.
鈥淏y 2016, the number of workers needed in B.C. is expected to exceed the number of workers available,鈥� says a report from B.C.鈥檚 universities.
While it would be simplistic to suggest one problem could cancel out the other, senior governments could do more to give people the opportunity to better themselves through education and training.
Municipal governments, meanwhile, can do their part to encourage the living-wage concept, not by mandate, but by setting the example and encouraging employers to look for ways to ensure workers are fairly and adequately paid.
