The annual report published by the Living Wage for Families Campaign, a non-profit organization that advocates for policies that help families make ends meet, found that two parents in Metro Vancouver should each earn at least $24.02 an hour in a full-time job — or $43,826 a year — in order to cover the most basic costs of raising two children. In Victoria, the living wage for 2022 is $24.29, according to the report published in partnership with the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives. The living wage in both cities has increased by almost $4 an hour since last year and is well above BC’s minimum wage of $15.65. According to the report, living wages are rising faster than the rate of inflation, which has reached levels not seen in nearly four decades. The campaign says the rise in the living wage is due to the cost of food and housing. “Which by the way are the two biggest staples in a family’s budget,” said Anastasia French, provincial director of Living Wage for Families BC “They’re the two things you can’t really cut.”
Grocery bills add to the cost
The report estimates that the monthly grocery bill for a family living in Metro Vancouver has increased by an average of $161 to $1,114, almost 17 per cent more than last year. Groceries have become even more expensive on Vancouver Island and northern BC, French says. “It costs more to get food to the island, so their living wages are now slightly higher than Vancouver’s,” French said. The report estimates that the monthly grocery bill for a family living in Metro Vancouver has increased by an average of $161 to $1,114, an increase of 17 per cent. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada) Food is now the second highest cost for families in most communities, surpassing childcare. “That’s because of some of the big investments that have been made in childcare, which are fantastic,” French said.
Housing costs increased by 17%
Housing costs also rose by nearly 17%, in part because the report now includes the costs of renters who recently moved out. The cost of renting a three-bedroom apartment in Metro Vancouver is estimated at $2,186. Iglika Ivanova, senior economist at the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives, says the estimate is conservative, as is the entire living wage calculation, which is based on the cost of basic goods like food, rent, childcare and the transfer after government tax, credits, deductions and subsidies have been taken into account. “It’s still a budget that leaves a lot of extras that many of us take for granted,” he explained. “It does not include the cost of caring for a sick or disabled family member or an elderly family member.” The living wage does not include expenses such as debt repayment, interest payments, entertainment, recreation and unpaid vacations. It also doesn’t include the cost of saving for a house, retirement or sending a child to university. French suggests the province could help loosen the living wage with stronger rent controls. “What we want is for the government to make sure that rent control is not tied to the tenant, but actually to the unit,” French said. “So just because someone moves in doesn’t mean you can raise the rent by 10 to 20 percent like we’ve seen in the past.”
