Mulcair promises to raise the wage bar for federally regulated workers

Tom Mulcair (Screengrab from Canucks Politics)

VANCOUVER — The New Democrats are promising to bring back the minimum wage for federal employees if they form the next government.

NDP leader Tom Mulcair announced in Vancouver today that he would make the minimum wage for workers in federally regulated sectors $15 an hour.

Mulcair says the Liberals and Conservatives did nothing to raise the bar while in power.

He says although the affected workers only amount to a small per cent of Canada’s overall workforce, raising their wage will pressure the provinces to do more.

Mulcair is also going to address Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, which is meeting in Vancouver this weekend.

Today’s Vancouver announcement is the first in what is expected to be a number of NDP announcements as it rolls out detailed planks of its platform this fall.

It’s also expected the New Democrats will unveil plans for a national child-care program and infrastructure investment.