The devil take the hindmost

In an earlier post I talked about the fact that when New Brunswick raised its minimum wage this spring, BC would be tied in last place for the lowest minimum wage in Canada.

NB raised its minimum wage today and now BC, with the highest cost of living in Canada, is tied with two provinces with the lowest cost of living in Canada, New Brunswick and PEI. New Brunswick has said it is raising the minimum wage again this fall.

Here are some comments from the New Brunswick press release today:

Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Donald Arseneault said that while the province’s economy is slowing, it is important to continue to give individuals and families the opportunity to have a better standard of living, and help them build a better future here in New Brunswick.

“We want New Brunswickers to work in this province and be successful,” said Arseneault.

This attitude towards people at the bottom end of the income scale is a refreshing difference from the government in our own province whose attitude can be best described as, “the devil take the hindmost.”

Topics: Economy, Poverty, inequality & welfare