London

How much do you have to make in London to live with 'economic security'?

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A living wage is calculated based on two working adults with two kids, using the cost of living in London

A family of four living in London must make more than Ontario's minimum wage to fully participate in life here, a new calculation released today reveals.

The London Poverty Research Centre at King's University College calculated the city's living wage as $16.20 per hour, a 4.3 per cent increase over the 2016 living wage, when the calculation was last made.

It's also more than $2 more than the province's minimum wage, which currently sits at $14/hour.

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"The difference adds up to about $8,000 in the household, and that could be the difference between eating well versus eating not well, your children going to some recreational programs versus not going to programs, those kinds of differences," said Michael Courey, who speaks for the research centre.

How London's living wage for 2019 was calculated. (Supplied by Poverty Research Centre at King's University)

The calculations were based on the cost of living in London, taking into account government subsidies for items such as child care and housing.

"It does include money for a small family vacation, which we would expect a family of four living in a country such as ours to be able to afford, but it doesn't include money for debt repayment or saving for retirement," Courey said.

A living wage is different than a minimum wage because it includes money not just to live, but to "participate in their community," he added.

The result of living on the minimum wage can be ever-rising debt, anxiety, and the inability to catch up financially, Courey said.

20% in poverty

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The living wage in London in 2016, when it was first calculated, was $15.53 per hour.

The wage is calculated using local numbers for the costs of shelter, food, child care, public transportation, internet and phone connection and health care.

Almost 20 per cent of Londoners, or 62,000 people, live in poverty. The number of people living on low income is higher in London than the provincial and national average, according to Statistics Canada numbers.

The London Poverty Research Centre hopes that employers commit to paying their employees a living wage.