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The following is an opinion article submitted by the New Brunswick New Democratic Party:

Recently, Statistics Canada reported the elevated price of gasoline has been the major contributor to a significant rise in the rate of inflation, now at 3.4 per cent.

There's little relief in sight for Canadians who face rising mortgage interest costs up 8.5 per cent and groceries up 4.3 per cent.

Plainly, Canadian worker's wage gains have been negated by these soaring costs, an especially stark reality for minimum wage earners.

Unlike inflation, minimum wage has not risen steadily over the past 25 years. And contrary to the widely held belief that minimum wage earners are youth who live at home, 61 per cent of minimum wage workers are adults, moreover, 64 per cent are women. If minimum wage had increased at the same rate as real Gross Domestic Product per capita it would be an average of $12.44 today, a full 70 per cent higher than the current average.

The elevated rate of inflation presents a crisis for minimum wage earners. Because of this, the New Brunswick New Democratic Party is calling upon the Graham government to bring the minimum wage to a living wage status.

"The Liberal government must legislate the yearly indexation of minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index," states NDP leader Roger Duguay. "Increasing minimum wage will lift people out of poverty, keep people in the province, encourage immigration and stimulate the economy via an increase in total spending."

The NDP is aware that corporate funded think-tanks like the Fraser Institute and Atlantic Market Institute will argue tirelessly that an increase in minimum wage will reduce employment and on-the-job-training.

Yet, New Brunswickers cannot tighten their belts any further while big business fattens-up.

"It's time for government to take a stand against the global corporate agenda of profit over people. It's time to close the prosperity gap and to restore dignity, respect and quality of life to all the hard-working people in our fine province," states Duguay.