New living wage report pegs Kamloops household earning threshold at $23.69 per hour

“It’s shocking that one of the more affordable places in the country, it still takes six dollars more than minimum wage to actually make ends meet,” Ivanova notes. “I think that’s really what stands out.”

CCPA-BC authored the report with Living Wage BC, which identified housing costs as the largest driver of the increase.

“Even though rent inflation is moderating and we’re seeing the prices of some of those new listings start to come down in those bigger cities, we’re still seeing year-over-year rent increases of close to eight per cent.”

Transportation costs are another big consideration. For Kamloops and other Interior cities, transit options are not as expansive as they are in the Lower Mainland.

“In Kamloops, for example, we are assuming that the family for the living wage calculation has two cars because the city is quite spread out and the transportation is just not cutting it enough,” says Ivanova.

The Kamloops and District Labour Council says there’s a growing disparity between what’s considered the poverty line, minimum wage and a living wage. The organization represented roughly 13,000 unionized workers in the Kamloops area, including Merritt to Valemount and Chase to Lillooet.

“I think one out of three people probably are (being paid a living wage), but there’s a large population that aren’t getting that living wage,” says Lois Rugg, the president of the KDLC.

In recent years, its prompted a call for employers to revisit what’s considered a livable salary or wage.

“Although we made some great improvements in the last rounds of bargaining for most of the unions, we still didn’t quite catch up,” adds Rugg. “Most people feel that they’re still behind with all of the increases.”

However the cost-of-living strain won’t be solved by wage increases alone. Ivanova feels policy initiatives such as federal dental coverage, 10-dollar-a-day child care and rental supports could make a difference in day-to-day affordability.

“In addition to all these kind of long-term policies about building more housing — which are very important but won’t materialize for decades — we need support now for the families who are struggling,” she adds.

The full report can be viewed here.

by Dylana Kneeshaw

New living wage report pegs Kamloops household earning threshold at $23.69 per hour

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