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Region's living wage $16.39, advocacy groups say

Working parents raising two young children in North Central B.C. need to earn $16.39 per hour to make ends meet, according to a report released Wednesday.
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Working parents raising two young children in North Central B.C. need to earn $16.39 per hour to make ends meet, according to a report released Wednesday.

The so-called "living wage" is down 13 cents from the amount calculated for last year's report, authored by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition, and the Living Wage for Families Campaign.

If not for the federal government's Canada Child Benefit, introduced in July 2016, there would have been an increase. It was enough to offset hikes in expenses, notably child care, which rose by $42.50 per month, and rent, which went up $54 per month.

The overall increase in expenses was 3.38 per cent, much higher than the general inflation rate of 2.3 per cent for British Columbia, the authors noted.

"A $16.39 hourly living wage may seem high to some but it is based on a bare-bones budget for a family of four in our region," CCPA economist and report co-author Iglika Ivanova said.

"There's a big gap between the wages many of our neighbours earn and the real costs of raising a family.

"About 13 per cent of Prince George's two-parent families with children had incomes less than the living wage in 2014, according to Statistics Canada data from tax files."

This year and for the first time, two cell phones and an internet connection were added to the calculation, reflecting the fact that more Canadians now have mobile phones than land lines and more families have internet connections at home.

There are more expensive places to live. At $20.62, Metro Vancouver topped the list of 17 communities and regions considered. Just two of them - Comox Valley at $15.96 and Fraser Valley at $15.90 - had lower living wages than North Central B.C., which includes Prince George and Quesnel.

There are more than 80 companies and organizations across B.C. who've earned living wage employers certification from the Living Wage for Families Campaign. Intregris Credit Union and Prince George-based P.S. Pianos are among them.

"B.C. is the only province without a poverty reduction plan and as a result, families continue to struggle," Integris spokeswoman Cori Ramsay said. "As employers, we can join the living wage initiative to make a difference in our province; families are counting on employers and whomever forms the next provincial government to do better."