Niagara may be feeling effects of minimum wage hike: Chamber

February 15, 2018 | In The News

Niagara may already be feeling the effects just one month since Ontario increased the minimum wage, says an organization representing businesses in the region.

The provincial government hiked the minimum wage to $14 an hour Jan. 1, with a further $1 increase to come next January.

The statistics are now out for the first full month since the increase, and officials with Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce said the numbers are “sobering.”

In a news release, the chamber said analysts across the country, including the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis and the province’s independent Financial Accountability Office, warned job losses would be a predictable result of the province’s legislation.

As many as 185,000 Ontario jobs could be at risk by 2020, the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis found.

The chamber said economists were expecting the economy to add 10,000 jobs, but instead, 88,000 jobs were lost after the first full month since the bill’s implementation — the most in nine years.

The chamber, which has 1,600 members representing 50,000 employees, said 51,000 service sector jobs alone were lost in Ontario, all part-time.

Between December and January, the St. Catharines-Niagara census metropolitan area lost a net total of 700 jobs, said the chamber.

Youth were harder-hit, with 2,000 jobs held by 15- to 24-year-olds disappearing, as were women, who lost 900 jobs compared to a small gain for male workers.

While Niagara’s goods-producing sector added 500 net jobs, with construction (and, to a lesser extent, manufacturing) counter-balancing losses in agricultural employment, the local service sector lost 1,200 jobs.

Although Niagara’s part-time employment increased overall, with an extra 500 jobs being created, the region reversed the national trend, losing 1,200 full-time jobs.

Compared to January 2017, the region has lost a net total of 1,600 jobs, year over year, and 7,700 jobs among 15- to 24-year-olds — meaning for every four young Niagarans who held a job in January 2017, one is now unemployed.

The chamber, which is the third largest in Ontario, said losses have been felt most acutely in the service sector, which has shed 3,000 jobs since January 2017.

“These figures should draw attention to the fact that workplace legislation changes in Ontario have a real impact, not just on many Ontario employers, but on their workers as well,” said Mishka Balsom, the chamber’s president and chief executive officer.

“Our businesses are members of our community, and their health is tightly linked to the prosperity of our community. We ignore that linkage at our peril.”

The chamber said it cautioned that many businesses squeezed by minimum-wage increases would survive only by laying off workers.

Chamber officials said this could be what is taking place, with employers having started last year in anticipation of the crunch to come in January. Minimum-wage jobs are predominantly found in the service sector and held by young people, and these are where the jobs have been lost, stated the release.

Niagara continues to shift from full-time to part-time work.

This could be explained by shift cuts pushing some workers below the 30-hour-week threshold used by Statistics Canada to define full-time work.

It could also be that employers, under increasing wage pressure, increasingly find themselves unable to offer full-time positions.

Chamber officials said as the year continues, it will continue to analyze what sort of an effect labour law changes are having in Niagara.

Glen Walker, chairman of Niagara Poverty Reduction Network, said he questions whether there has been a “proper connection” between government programs to help small businesses as they go through this transition.

“How many are connecting and how many are utilizing the programs that the provincial government supposedly has in place?” he said.

Walker said it’s also important to think about what the philosophy is of businesses “at this point in time.”

“Are they really just saying we have to maintain this profit margin that we’ve got, or keep our margins where they are, as a result we’re going to send our employees out the door? For us, obviously social conscience is key — you’ve got employees, a group of people, you’re working with and supporting.

“Yes, you’re trying to make profit and make money, but at the same time what obligation do you have back to your employees who didn’t decide they wanted this increase, but at the same time are living in poverty.”

Niagara Poverty Reduction Network works to wipe out poverty through education, collaboration and advocacy to address poverty’s root causes.

Walker said there seems to be a lot of discussion around the impact on businesses, which “obviously is driving our economy,” but not enough about how an increase in the minimum wage could be helping workers.

“How many people on the other side of the coin have received an increase and are benefitting from this and are improving their life as a result of this? We don’t hear much about that. I think it’s important to think about that balance. There’s only a small percentage of people earning high incomes, but there’s a significant number of people who really are struggling and not doing well, and this is certainly going a ways to at least help them with that.”

rspiteri@postmedia.com
twitter.com/rayspiteri

Original article:
www.niagarafallsreview.ca/2018/02/10/niagara-may-be-feeling-effects-of-minimum-wage-hike-chamber

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Chamber This Week – February 9, 2018

February 9, 2018 | Non-Advocacy

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Niagara May Be Feeling Effects of Minimum Wage Legislation

February 9, 2018 | Media Releases

On January 1st, the Government of Ontario introduced sweeping changes to the province’s labour laws with the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, most notably including a hike in minimum wage to $14/hr, with a further $1/hr increase to come next January.

Analysts across the country, including the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA) and the province’s independent Financial Accountability Office, warned that job losses would be a predictable result of this legislation. As many as 185,000 Ontario jobs could be at risk by 2020, CANCEA found.

The statistics are now out for the first full month of the bill’s implementation, and the numbers are sobering. Economists were expecting the economy to add 10,000 jobs, but instead, 88,000 jobs were lost – the most in nine years.

49,000 full-time jobs were gained in the country, but 137,000 part-time jobs were lost. Most – 71,900 – were in the service sector, and 51,000 were lost in Ontario, all part-time.

Between December 2017 and January 2018, the St. Catharines-Niagara census metropolitan area (CMA) lost a net total of 700 jobs. Youth were harder-hit, with 2,000 jobs held by 15-24-year-olds disappearing, as were women, who lost 900 jobs compared to a small gain for male workers. While Niagara’s goods-producing sector added 500 net jobs, with construction (and, to a lesser extent, manufacturing) counterbalancing losses in agricultural employment, the local service sector lost 1,200.

Although Niagara’s part-time employment increased overall, with an extra 500 jobs being created, the region reversed the national trend, losing 1,200 full-time jobs. Compared to January of 2017, the region has lost a net total of 1,600 jobs, year over year, and a staggering 7,700 jobs among 15-24-year-olds – meaning for every four young Niagarans who held a job in January 2017, one is now unemployed. Again, losses have been felt most acutely in the service sector, which has shed 3,000 jobs since January 2017.

The GNCC cautioned that many businesses squeezed by minimum wage increases would survive only by laying off workers, and this could well be what we are seeing, with employers having started last year in anticipation of the crunch to come in January. Minimum wage jobs are predominantly found in the service sector and held by young people, and these are exactly where the jobs have been lost.

Niagara continuous to shift from full-time to part-time work. This could be explained by shift cuts pushing some workers below the 30-hour-week threshold used by Statistics Canada to define full-time work. It could also be that employers, under increasing wage pressure, increasingly find themselves unable to offer full-time positions.

As the year continues, Niagara will see what sort of an effect labour law changes are having. Economists believed that the effect would be a slowing of job creation, not actual job losses, and yet across Ontario, 51,000 jobs have already been lost. This may be an aberration, or it may mean that the effects are even worse than the most pessimistic predictions of 2017.

Quotes:

“These figures should draw attention to the fact that workplace legislation changes in Ontario have a real impact, not just on many Ontario employers, but on their workers as well. Our businesses are members of our community, and their health is tightly linked to the prosperity of our community. We ignore that linkage at our peril.”

— Mishka Balsom, President & CEO, Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

 

The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in Niagara and the third-largest Chamber of Commerce in Ontario, with 1,600 members representing 50,000 employees. More information on the GNCC is available at gncc.ca.

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Contact:
Mishka Balsom, President & CEO, Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce
Mishka@gncc.ca or 905-684-2361

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Chamber This Week – January 22, 2018

January 22, 2018 | Non-Advocacy

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How businesses can access government funds to offset the Bill 148 wage increase

January 22, 2018 | Blog

Bill 148 is here, $14/hr minimum wage is now a reality, and the first paycheques at the new rate have gone out. This has been the GNCC’s top advocacy priority since it was announced, and we have done an enormous amount of work on behalf of Niagara’s business community, but there are some things you can do right now as a business-owner to help offset the costs of this increase. The GNCC is dedicated to your success, and we want to make sure that everyone is aware of and utilizing the offsets and savings available to them right now.

The Government of Ontario has announced that, to encourage youth hiring, employers will be rewarded with a $1,000 payment when they hire an employee aged 15-29 and a second $1,000 payment when that employee reaches their six-month anniversary.

To be eligible, the employee must work a minimum of 20 hours per week and cannot be a full-time student. Employers hiring between January 1st and March 31st will receive $1,000 at the three-month anniversary (so that payments occur in fiscal year 2018-2019) and $1,000 at the six-month mark; employees hired after March 31st will render their employer eligible for $1,000 upon hiring, followed by $1,000 on the six-month anniversary. The employer must have fewer than 100 employees, although companies that grow over 100 after the hiring will still be eligible for funding for the hires made before the cut-off, and can receive a maximum of $50,000.

The incentives will be distributed through Employment Ontario providers. If you are not already working with an Employment Ontario provider, contact Linking Niagara at the GNCC who can put you in touch. The program is only accessible by employers registered with an Employment Ontario provider. There are also many other programs available to compensate employers for their hiring and training incentives, such as hiring support including recruiting, pre-screening, interviewing and free job fairs, wage incentive programs, or tax credits. Linking Niagara can help you obtain these funds.

Applications are now underway for the Canada Summer Jobs Grant, which provides wage subsidies for students who would not be eligible under the Ontario program. You can apply online; for assistance, local MP offices are running workshops and can help guide you through the process.

There are also existing funds, grants, and programs available at both the provincial and federal level. There are existing portals at Invest in Ontario and the Canada Business Network where you can find funding for your business. These sites are a little hard to navigate, but the federal 2017 budget also promised a one-stop shop for accessing these programs, and next week, the government will launch that site. The GNCC has had a sneak preview, and it is easy to use and offers connections to funds and programs you may not have known you were eligible for. Watch the GNCC’s website and social media next week, as we will be sharing that link once it goes live.

Through our work with Linking Niagara, we know that many businesses in Niagara are not aware or not taking advantage of all the programs and funding available to them, and this is more important than ever to address.

We are also very aware that the offsets that the government has announced do not compensate business for the increased costs of Bill 148. We are committed to working on obtaining further concessions for business in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber network across the province. Although it is highly unlikely that the increase will be rolled back, for political reasons, there may be room for a more business-friendly approach to legislation concerning vacation, paid emergency leave, unionization, and other measures increasing costs to business, and we are going to focus on that.

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Chamber This Week – December 22, 2017

December 22, 2017 | Non-Advocacy

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Walker Environmental Continues to Invest in Resource Recovery

December 8, 2017 | Members in the News

Walker Environmental Group Inc. (Walker) announces the acquisition of Gro-Bark®, the leading mulch and potting soil manufacturer in Ontario. Based in Caledon, Ontario, the addition of Gro-Bark® now makes Walker the largest fully integrated organics recovery company in Canada.

Gro-Bark® services the Ontario and US Great Lakes region horticultural industry with high quality, sustainable and innovative materials that help plants grow. In addition to the soil blending facility in Caledon, there are composting, mulch production and several aged bark reclamation sites throughout Ontario.

From Mike Watt, Executive Vice-President at Walker “Gro-Bark® shares the Walker view that end product quality is the key to the successful recovery of organics in the developing circular economy. Their dedication to servicing the customer first and ability to execute on logistics and materials movement provides Walker with an unparalleled advantage in the marketplace.”

Walker continues to invest in recovering and repurposing organic waste into high quality products for retailers, nurseries and greenhouses. From Bill McKague of Gro-Bark® “I’m happy that a company like Walker will continue to run Gro-Bark® with a dedication to the employees, the suppliers, the customers and the communities in which we work. The growth potential for the companies together make for an exciting future for all of our people.”

About Walker Industries and Walker Environmental 

Since 1887, Walker Industries, the parent company of Walker Environmental has proven to be a diversified company with a reputation for integrity, care & creativity. Walker is a 5th generation, family-owned Canadian company that has operated from a base in the Niagara Region for over 125 years. Now with facilities across Canada and the United States and employing more than 700 people, the company takes pride in providing infrastructure that builds communities. Walker Industries group of companies offers aggregates, paving & construction, emulsions and environmental waste & recycling solutions.

Walker Environmental is a leading waste management and resource recovery company. The company operates two landfills, a waste transfer facility, six biosolids stabilization plants, two composting facilities, four food/residual organic processing facilities, several landfill gas renewable energy projects in Ontario and Manitoba, and a waste haulage company.

Commitment to the environment, communities, and tomorrow’s generations is the foundation for growth at Walker Industries. To learn more about Walker Industries and Walker Environmental please visit www.walkerind.com

For more information, please contact Mike Watt, Executive Vice-President, Walker Environmental Group, 905-680-3752 or via email at mwatt@walkerind.com.

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Chamber This Week – November 27, 2017

November 27, 2017 | Non-Advocacy

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Skills mismatch, minimum wage hike in focus at economic summit

October 30, 2017 | In The News

by Paul Forsyth

Looming minimum wage hikes, international trade in the age of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to scuttle the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the skills mismatch that leaves many employers begging for qualified workers were front and centre at the annual Niagara Economic Summit on Thursday.

Not surprisingly, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce came out swinging at Bill 148, the provincial government’s Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, which will hike the minimum wage from $11.60 right now to $14 in January and to $15 by the following January.

But Grimsby native Karl Baldauf, vice-president of policy and government relations for the chamber, said that legislation will have even more dire consequences for businesses in Ontario. He also said businesses in Niagara will in particular feel the brunt.

Baldauf conceded there’s a tremendous amount of sympathy among Ontario residents who see neighbours unable to afford basic living expenses because they simply don’t make enough on their paycheque.

“We should not be proud that exists in a province as prosperous as Ontario,” he told the crowd of hundreds at White Oaks Resort and Spa.

But the rapid implementation of the wage hikes is unprecedented across North American, said Baldauf, who noted the increases will cost Ontario businesses a whopping $13 billion in two years.

Niagara’s heavy reliance on tourism and service sector jobs makes it “inordinately at risk” compared to the rest of the province, he warned.

But the legislation goes much farther, mandating changes such as increasing vacation time for workers, requiring equal provisions for casual and seasonal workers, and making it easier for workers to unionize, he said.

All told, the hit for employers will be a staggering $23 billion in the next two years, said Baldauf.

“Bill 148 has the potential for remarkable and dangerous unintended consequences,” he said, noting the chamber predicts it will cost the average family about $1,300 more a year in higher costs for goods and services, and will put 185,000 jobs at risk over two years.

“All of this change all at once is adding tremendous risk to businesses in this province, a risk we consider irresponsible,” said Baldauf.

Spreading the changes out over five years would only put about 49,000 jobs at risk, he said.

But the chamber official backed up the province on the issue of Ontario’s Fair Hydro Plan, which lowers electricity bills that were causing panic among many Ontarians and businesses. The province’s budget watchdog said by kicking the can down the road further, it will actually cost Ontarians billions of dollars more in the years to come.

But Baldauf said the province had to act decisively on soaring hydro costs.

“We saw business after business after business leaving this province because of hydro costs,” he said. “We had a crisis and it called for drastic action.”

But the skills mismatch in Ontario was also key at the summit. Baldauf said a recent survey by his chamber of businesses shed light on just how important tackling that is.

“The number one issue for businesses in this province is not the rising cost of doing business, which was a shock for a lot of us,” he said. “Not being able to access the talent required for a business to grow is the number one impediment to growth, more so than rising electricity, more so than rising property taxes.”

There was chatter among panellists at the summit about the importance of financial incentives for businesses to locate here or grow. But Tracy Reynolds, an executive director at Global Affairs Canada, said multinational media giant Thomson Reuters Corp. made it clear in October why it was creating some 400 jobs and relocating its top executives from New York to Toronto.

“Their decision was based 100 per cent on the availability of talent,” he said.

Reynolds said good infrastructure such as adequate highway networks is routinely a close second to a skilled workforce in terms of importance for companies looking to set up shop or relocate.

“Questions like bottlenecks … were always something they asked about,” he said. “Both of those are critical for this region if you’re going to continue to grow your economy.”

That led regional chief administrative officer Carmen D’Angelo to tell the summit that only reinforces the need to get the oft-stalled mid-peninsula corridor concept off the back burner in a region where nearly a million fully-loaded transport trucks cross the border each year.

“You get an accident (on the QEW) and everything comes to a screeching halt,” he said.

Regional Chair Alan Caslin told regional council later in the day that the summit was a prime opportunity to showcase how the region’s economic development department and the local towns and cities are developing a business-friendly culture. “The support for…doing business in Niagara was electric,” he said.

The economic summit was organized by the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce.

Original article:
https://www.niagarathisweek.com/news-story/7686468-skills-mismatch-minimum-wage-hike-in-focus-at-economic-summit/

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