The Campbell River Chamber of Commerce is calling on the provincial government to maintain certainty and predictability as minimum wage starts to increase June 1.
In the Chamber’s recent Business Leaders Survey conducted in partnership with MNP, it heard from 200 CEO’s in Campbell River and the surrounding area that government uncertainty was the number one issue impacting business.
As members shared their insights on the potential economic impact of a large-scale wage increase, they said predictability and certainty are needed to protect businesses from the fallout of sudden, unexpected hikes.
“Our Chamber position is focused on two recommendations to the provincial government: that businesses be given a minimum four year implementation period, to enable our small businesses time to adjust to increases; and that all future increases be linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to ensure stability and certainty. The minimum implementation period was met and now we are asking government to consider CPI indexing,” said CEO Colleen Evans.
“Our small businesses, especially those in the service sector, are vulnerable to increasing costs from multiple sources. The cost of living is a major concern for our members, as employees need to be able to thrive in the community. Businesses are facing increased property taxes, increases in taxes due to recent federal tax changes to the CCPC, and now substantial increases in payroll – with the subsequent increases in their portion of payroll taxes such as EI, CPP, etc.,” said Board Chair Corby Lamb.
“We support wage increases so employees can keep up with the cost of living. We also support increases being announced in advance to ensure businesses are able to adjust,” said Lamb. “Tying wage increases to CPI going forward provides businesses with the ability to plan and budget, and ensures they will not face large increases in labour costs.”