The Niagara Poverty Reduction Network announcing the Canalside Soda Company in Grimsby has become a certified living wage employer at the Champion level.
Chief Soda Officer Sean Polden says “Being a start-up, it was important for us to ensure that our employees who give so much towards the success of our company are not going home at the end of each day to the stress and anxiety that goes along with poverty wages. Paying a living wage should be the goal of every business. Fortunately because we're a newer company we were able to incorporate offering a living wage into our planning from the start."
The 2019 living wage for Niagara region has been calculated to be $18.12/hour.
If an employer’s total compensation package includes benefits such as dental and prescription drugs, the living wage can be lowered by at least $1.00/hour.