1. M. Haener Consulting Services Mhaener@telus.net March 2019
2019 NWT Living Wage
M. Haener Consulting Services
March 2019

2. Presentation Outline What is Living Wage (LW)?
What is the purpose of LW?
How is LW calculated?
What is the NWT LW?
What is the level of Annual Expenses, Government Transfers, and Taxes?
What is the LW in other communities?

3. What is Living Wage?
“… the hourly rate at which a household can meet its basic needs, once government transfers have been added to the family's income and deductions have been subtracted” (Living Wage Canada, 2015)
Based on “…the amount of income an individual or family requires to meet their basic needs, to maintain a safe, decent standard of living in their communities (Vibrant Communities Calgary, 2012)
Incorporates a bare-bones budget which includes:
food, clothing, rent, transportation, child care, health care, adult education, some household expenses, and a small emergency fund.
Enables working families to have sufficient income to cover reasonable costs
● Promotes social inclusion
● Supports healthy child development principles
● Ensures that families are not under severe financial stress
● Conservative, reasonable estimate
● Engenders significant and wide ranging community support
● Promotes the benefits of social programs such as childcare

4. What is the purpose of LW?
Information for community
Amount of income required to meet basic needs
Indicator of living cost changes
Indicator of local impact of government transfer programs
Community–based policy or programs
Municipal LW policy/bylaws
Municipal low-income access/affordability programs
Advocacy
Increase support for working poor
Higher minimum wages
Benefits of paying LW and/or participation in LW Employer programs
According to Vibrant Communities Canada (2013),
living wage is a call to private and public sector employers to pay wages to both direct and contract employees sufficient to provides the basics to families with children (p. 1).
Living Wages are not intended to replace government programs that target low income households. Living Wage advocates argue that, in addition to tax benefits and subsidy programs, policies which implement voluntary or mandated living rates can also play a role in ensuring that households can achieve a decent standard of living.

5. How is LW calculated? Canadian Living Wage Framework (CLWF)
Indigenous family in Inuvik
Budget expenditures
Food, clothing, transportation, child care, etc
Transfers that apply to each household
Child support, Child care subsidies, GST credit, UCCB, AFETC, CCTB
Tax paid
Income tax, CPP, EI, etc
Employment income vs After-tax income

6. How is LW calculated? CLWF calculation approach
Annual Expenses = Before-Tax Employment Income + Government Transfers - Taxes Before-Tax Employment Income / Paid Hours of Work = Living Wage
Budget expenditures
Food, clothing, transportation, child care, etc
Transfers that apply to each household
Child support, Child care subsidies, GST credit, UCCB, AFETC, CCTB
Tax paid
Income tax, CPP, EI, etc
Employment income vs After-tax income
Step 1: Define household(s) and confirm budget items needed to reflect local living expenses
Step 2: Estimate annual expenses
Step 3: Determine government transfers and taxes
Step 4: Calculate available income
Step 5: Adjust employment income to balance budget expenditures and available income

7. How is LW calculated? CLWF calculation approach Budget expenditures
Food, clothing, transportation, child care, etc
Transfers that apply to each household
Child support, Child care subsidies, GST credit, UCCB, AFETC, CCTB
Tax paid
Income tax, CPP, EI, etc
Employment income vs After-tax income
Step 1: Define household(s) and confirm budget items needed to reflect local living expenses
Step 2: Estimate annual expenses
Step 3: Determine government transfers and taxes
Step 4: Calculate available income
Step 5: Adjust employment income to balance budget expenditures and available income

8. What is the Living Wage in the NWT?
Couple Family – 2 working adults & 2 children
Yellowknife - Past Living Wage estimates:
$20.68
$20.96

9. Annual Expenses

10. Annual Expenses: Estimation Approach and Data Sources
Food / Clothing & Footwear
NWT MBM
Shelter
CMHC Market Rental Report
Tenant insurance quotes
Transportation
Public transit & taxi
Other Household Costs
Survey of Household Spending (Statistics Canada)
Childcare
Cost of local providers & summer programs
Health Care
Health insurance premium quotes
Conservative estimates of out-of-pocket expenses

11. Annual Expenses: Estimation and Data Sources
Social Inclusion
Cell phone, cable and internet
Adult education – Aurora College tuition and material estimates
Local recreation costs
Computer, children’s toys, gifts - Survey of Household Spending
Netflix account
Restaurant meals – conservative estimates
Vacation – Trip to Edmonton/Yellowknife/Whitehorse

12. Government Transfers Canada Child Benefit over $6,000
Income is too high to receive benefits through:
NWT Child Benefit
GST Rebate

13. Taxes Net Tax comes in at $12,000-$14,000
Includes: EI, CPP, Federal & NWT Income Tax
Highest in Inuvik due to higher Net Income resulting from lower child care expense adjustment
Greatest tax burden stems from:
Federal Income Tax –$5,000 to $6,500
CPP - $4,300 to $4,600
Published tax formulas and indexing values

14. Living Wage in Other Communities

15. What is the LW in other communities?
Whitehorse (2017) – $18.26
North East BC (2018) - $18.29
Edmonton (2018) - $16.48
Calgary (2017) - $18.15
Canmore (2017) - $25.28
Vancouver (2018) - $20.91
Victoria (2018) - $20.50
LW in other Cdn cities – p $13 (Brandon MN) to over $20 (Metro Van)

16. Contact Information
Michel Haener M Haener Consulting Services