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September 18th, 2014

Statement by the Official Opposition on the rejection of its motion on the federal minimum wage

Official Opposition Labour critic Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont – La Petite-Patrie) made the following statement after his motion on the federal minimum wage was thrown out:

“Rather than support the NDP motion to increase the federal minimum wage, Conservative MPs chose to vote against this commonsense initiative that would have bolstered the income of tens of thousands of Canadian families and helped fight wage inequality across the country. I also noted the unfortunate absence of Justin Trudeau. It seems the issue is not important enough for him to show up in House and display some firm and decisive support for workers in this country.

“The Federal Labour Review Commission called for an increase in the minimum wage back in 2006 – an initiative that would have encouraged the provinces to emulate their federal counterpart.

“This progressive increase in the minimum wage for federally regulated workers would have also put pressure on companies to follow suit.

“The NDP has no intention of dropping this issue and still maintains its promise to restore the federal minimum wage if elected to government next year.

“This measure is part of the NDP’s broader push to build a more just and prosperous economy for all Canadians.”