Ontario's bid to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour is being put to the public this week.
The Liberal government's legislation on labour reforms to hike the minimum wage, ensure equal pay for part-time workers, increase vacation entitlements and expand personal emergency leave starts committee hearings today.
They'll travel the province, starting in Thunder Bay today.
The current minimum wage is $11.40 an hour and it would go up to $14 this January and $15 the following year.
It's a move feared by businesses and being cheered by a group of economists.
Business groups say the increase comes too quickly for some companies to absorb the added costs, and will mean some will have to lay workers off or close entirely.
But a group of 50 Canadian economists recently signed a letter in support of a $15 minimum wage, saying the idea that it will kill jobs, raise prices and cause businesses to flee Ontario is fear-mongering that is out of line with the latest economic research.
The public hearing stops in Niagara Falls July 19th.