The government has unveiled its 2021 budget and there's good news for workers in federally-regulated industries.
As part of the budget presentation, the government has announced its intention to raise Canada's federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.
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What does the government plan to do with the federal minimum wage?
Canada's Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland said that the new federal budget measures "will lift nearly 100,000 people out of poverty."
Legislation to increase the federal minimum wage would tie it to inflation and include "provisions to ensure that where provincial or territorial minimum wages are higher, that wage will prevail," according to a press release.
"This will directly benefit over 26,000 workers who currently make less than $15 per hour in the federally regulated private sector," the government said.
Who does Canada's federal minimum wage apply to?
The wage increase would be for low-earning workers in "federally-regulated private sectors," including:
"air transportation, including airlines, airports, aerodromes and aircraft operations
"banks, including authorized foreign banks
"grain elevators, feed and seed mills, feed warehouses and grain-seed cleaning plants
"First Nations band councils (including certain community services on reserve)
"most federal Crown corporations, for example, Canada Post Corporation
"port services, marine shipping, ferries, tunnels, canals, bridges and pipelines (oil and gas) that cross international or provincial borders
"radio and television broadcasting
"railways that cross provincial or international borders and some short-line railways
"road transportation services, including trucks and buses, that cross provincial or international borders
"telecommunications, such as, telephone, Internet, telegraph and cable systems
"uranium mining and processing and atomic energy
and "any business that is vital, essential or integral to the operation of one of the above activities."
Federal public service and Parliament workers are also on the list of federally regulated industries and workplaces.
