The Ontario government’s plan to increase the minimum wage by more than 30 per cent by 2010 has parts of the farm sector reeling.
The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario is the latest group to challenge the move, which would see the general minimum wage rate, now at $7.75 per hour, increase to $10.25 an hour by March 31, 2010.
“The Government should be applauded for its concern for the less fortunate in our society,” says the federation. “However, are minimum wage laws really the best means of delivering social policy? Many people believe [these] laws only affect multinational companies that operate fast food restaurants, big box retailers and hotels.”
The federation joins the Ontario Greenhouse Alliance (representing Flowers Canada and the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers) in wondering how fruit and vegetable producers can compete against imports from countries such as Mexico, Columbia and Ecuador where produce is grown with much cheaper labour.
Even field labour in the United States is much cheaper, because it’s often conducted by illegal immigrant workers.
In March, when the proposed wage increases were announced, the greenhouse alliance demanded the government “look beyond the office towers in downtown Toronto when it makes decisions like this.” It said that at 75 cents per hour per year, the proposed hike goes beyond any reasonable cost of living increase.
For many greenhouse operators, labour represents up to 40 per cent of total operating costs. The magnitude of the proposed wage hikes could make homegrown products uncompetitive, it says.
Only a few Christian farmers are members of the greenhouse alliance, but the growers’ plight still resonates with the federation.
“Workers look at the minimum rates as the base level from which to start their negotiations,” says the federation. “Inflated wage expectations pressure wage rates along the entire food production and processing chain. If primary producers and processors cannot compete with foreign operators, the local industry will slowly disappear.”
The paradox between wages and farming is underlined by the local food movement, which is gaining steam in Ontario and across Canada. Local foods are increasingly in demand, thanks in no small part to promotion by the provincial government.
~Owen Roberts~