Minimum Wage: Canadian Medical Association

Canadian Medical Association: Our experience confirms research evidence that working poor people in Ontario have higher rates of chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, bronchitis and migraines, compared to people who are not poor. For decades research has shown us that income levels are the most important determinant of health and well-being. Recent reports in the Ontario Medical Review carefully detailed the impact of poverty on health and the Canadian Medical Association has issued a call for federal, provincial and territorial governments to prioritize action plans to eliminate poverty. , according to Hamilton Spectator. At a minimum wage of $11 an hour, it would still be tough to eat healthily. Ontario food banks report that 11 per cent of the 375,000 people who visit monthly are in the workforce, but do not earn enough to make ends meet. An Ekos poll found that 23 per cent of Canadians cannot afford the medications they need. Last week Premier Kathleen Wynne received a report from a provincial advisory panel that advised her to peg future minimum wage increases to inflation. She has now announced that Ontario's minimum wage will increase to $11 per hour. But this rate is not high enough to ensure that paid employment lifts people above the poverty line. As health providers from across the province who see firsthand the impact of poverty on health, we urge the Ontario government to implement a plan to raise the minimum wage to $14 per hour plus inflation indexation over the next two years. Consider the following: (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.