Metro estimates an increase in the Ontario minimum wage to $14 per hour from the current rate of $11.40 will cost it about $45 million to $50 million on an annualized basis in 2018. MONTREAL—Ontario’s third-largest grocery chain will accelerate its study of automation as it looks to cut costs to offset the provincial government’s plan to raise the minimum wage next year, the CEO of Metro Inc. said Tuesday. The chain said it hasn’t calculated the full impact when the minimum wage rises to $15 an hour in January 2019. Movie chain Cineplex Odeon Corp. last year raised ticket prices in response to higher minimum wages, which affect much of its workforce. David Macdonald, the centre’s senior economist, has said there was little impact on employment from past minimum wage hikes and that forecasts fail to account for increased employee spending.

Source: thestar August 15, 2017 18:22 UTC