i'm going to tell you a little secret about the minimum wage hike in ontario, which is on it's way to $15/hr by the beginning of 2018.

*psstt*

lean in now, as the papers won't tell you this, and you don't need to know what they don't tell you, right?

the minimum wage in ontario is tied to inflation.

so, you can imagine that the press is yelling and screaming that the hike is meaningless because it will just raise prices, and in the end balance out.

not in this particular jurisdiction, it won't. right here, in this place, business owners can't get out of the increase that easily, because if they raise prices to compensate they'll just get hit with an equally sized increase in wages the next year. 

they're going to be forced to actually pay out.

that's the trick - the secret. it's how you win this game. 

and, what are the outcomes? will businesses close? will the economy collapse?

a few businesses may close, but that will be because they were barely profitable to begin with. and, it's funny to hear the so-called market advocates complain that unprofitable businesses will be forced to close, isn't it?

as workers will now have more disposable income, because capital cannot take it back via inflation, we should see an increase in gdp and a stronger economy, over all. when you fix increases to inflation, you can get a true shift in wealth.

i've stated this repeatedly: i actually like this government. i hope that they can turn things around before the next election.