Ontario Workers Receive First Paycheques with New Minimum Wage

Short Video Clip of Announcement

Ministry of Labour

Higher Wages Will Help Increase Business Productivity, Decrease Employee Turnover

Toronto, ON – Jan 12, 2018

Many workers across the province have now seen Ontario’s increased minimum wage reflected in their weekly pay. The general minimum wage rose from $11.60 to $14 on January 1, 2018, and will increase again to $15 on January 1, 2019.

Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn visited HotBlack Coffee in Toronto today to meet with workers who received their first paycheques following the increase. They discussed the benefits a higher minimum wage brings for both workers and employers, including happier, more motivated employees and better workforce stability.

Other provisions that came into effect on January 1, 2018 include:

Expanding personal emergency leave to 10 days per calendar year for all employees, with at least two paid days per year for employees who have been employed for at least a week
Ensuring workers are entitled to at least three weeks’ vacation after five years with the same employer
Providing workers with up to 17 weeks off without the fear of losing their job when a worker or their child has experienced or is threatened with domestic or sexual violence, including a paid leave for the first five days
Increasing family medical leave from 8 to 28 weeks per year
Changes to make it easier to form a union and reach a first collective agreement

To enforce these changes, the province is hiring up to 175 more employment standards officers. It is also launching a program to educate both employees and businesses about their rights and obligations under the Employment Standards Act.

Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change includes raising the minimum wage, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.