Whitehorse's 'living wage' calculated at $19.12 an hour

A Yukon advocacy group says a household of four people in Whitehorse needs an income of $74,000per year to meet basic needs such asadequate housing and nutritious foods.

Kristina Craig with the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition says that means two adults each working 35 hours per week would need to earn $19.12per hour to provide adequate food, shelter, clothing, transportation, health care, and other basic necessitiesfor themselves and two young children.

The current Yukonminimum wage is $11.07 per hour.

Higher wages are part of the solution, Craig says,but bringing the cost of living down for low income families would also be effective.

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Craig says that could happen "bylooking at health benefits, by looking at educational support, by looking at child-care support, looking at housing costs and how we can change that up."

Craig says the coalition will work with the public and private sectors to bring costs down.