Minimum wage increase 'bad for business,' says retail council

The Atlantic director for the Retail Council of Canada is speaking out against a minimum wage increase on Prince Edward Island.

Jim Cormier is responding to Friday's announcement of an increase in minimum wage on the Island.

Next July, minimum wage will go up 15 centsto $10.50 per hour.

Cormier says that won'thelp workers or employers.

"Overall, it's bad for business. It sends a bad signal that government doesn't understand the upward pressure that it creates for all businesses. Whether it's your small mom and pop retailer with two employees, or the large, international retailer that employs hundreds of employees in a province like Prince Edward Island," he said.

"If government were really serious about improving the lot of those that are making lower wages on the Island, they would do things that involve the tax rate, like increasing the basic personal exemption before a person starts paying taxes. It's been shown that that actually has an effect on low income people, whereas a minimum wage increase does next to nothing."

Cormier says the issue of minimum wage has been a political issue for too long on P.E.I.and questions the timing of this announcement, mere months before a likely provincial election.