Ont. min. wage going up to $9.50/hr.

News Release
Ont. Gov.

Ontario is raising the minimum wage to $9.50 on March 31, 2009. This is the sixth increase since 2004.
The province of Ontario started implementing annual increases early in 2003, raising the general minimum wage from $6.85 in 2004 to $8.00 in 2007. By 2010, Ontario will further increase the minimum wage to $10.25.
Phasing in these increases balances the needs of hard working families with the needs of small businesses that create jobs.
Increasing the minimum wage is part of Breaking the Cycle: Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (http://www.growingstronger.ca/english/default.asp), which will reduce the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over 5 years - lifting 90,000 kids out of poverty - by boosting benefits for low-income families and enhancing publicly-funded education.