http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/09/01/bc-lowest-minimum-wage.html
http://www.policynote.ca/bcs-minimum-wage-is-now-22-lower-than-ontarios/
Summary:
When New Brunswick officially raised its minimum wage to $8.25 an hour, British Columbia has claimed the honour to be the province with the lowest minimum wage in Canada. Not to mention British Columbia is one of the 3 provinces in Canada that pays training wages to first-time employees. Approximately 60,000 people in B.C. earned $8 per hour last year and nearly 300,000 people earned less than $10 per hour, which is below the poverty line. When compared to Ontario’s minimum wage, B.C.’s $8 minimum is 22% lower than Ontario’s, which means B.C.’s workers are earning one fifth less than the workers of Ontario. Despite the effort contributed by many people such as the B.C. Federation of Labour, the NDPs and many more to raise the minimum wage to a reasonable price, they were all turned down by the government. Ever since Premier Gordon Campbell and the Liberal government took over, they have frozen the minimum wage for about 9 years, the longest wage freeze in Canada followed by a two year freeze by Nunavut. The only excuse they had was that the raising of minimum wage will hurt the businesses and will reduce job opportunities for the young people and contrarily, Premier Gordon Campbell doubled his own salary over the 8 year wage freeze.
Connection:
British Columbia’s minimum wage connects to Chapter 16.1 where it talks about wages. By definition, wages are payments to workers for their labour, on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis, or by the piece. Based on the numbers of workers paid by wages from the article, we can assume that a major population of BC workers are paid by wages. Minimum wage is set as a standard for employers to pay its employees. Since the economy changes over time as a result of inflation and many other factors, minimum wage have to be adjusted to a reasonable amount to ensure that workers are able to afford basic necessities such as shelter and food. Although this may be beneficial for many workers in BC, it could cause problems for the accountants working with payroll expenses. Accountants and accounting softwares would have to adapt to the changes. New software updates must be made and would have to spend some time adapting to new tax deduction figures.
Reflection:
With British Columbia being one of the most expensive provinces to live in Canada, I believe that the minimum wage should be increased. Although the increase of minimum wage will cause an increase in a business’s payroll expenses, it will not dramatically affect the business’s performance. However, considering that the businesses in all the other provinces in Canada did not cause many problems, the businesses in B.C. should not have problems with the increase in minimum wage. Ontario is an excellent example of a prosperous province similar to B.C, but with a difference of $2.25 (22% more) in minimum wage. B.C is well known for the most expensive housing prices in Canada and yet it has the lowest minimum wage across Canada. How does the government expect B.C. citizens especially immigrants to afford a shelter, one of the basic needs, while working for $8 an hour? As a future part-time job worker, I strongly believe the minimum wage of B.C. should be increased.
Comment: Dickson's Blog
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Canadian Tire goes back to future
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/791930--canadian-tire-goes-back-to-future
Summary:
Canadian Tire decided to return its focus in the automotive parts and services. They have devised a three-to-five year strategic plan by sharply focusing on its automotive segment and core retail. By doing so, Canadian Tire may boost its shareholders’ return on equity through drenching more profit and sales from its current 479 stores and the impending 11 new stores this year. Canadian Tire aims to increase 3%-5% in sales, 8%-10% in profit and 10%-12% in return on equity to shareholders. Along with the new stores, Canadian Tire has arranged a deal with the province to open its first 23 Canadian Tire gas stations on the 400 series of provincial highways. Also, Canadian Tire is currently reformatting its store layouts which will increase the storage space and make it more efficient for its customer’s to shop. With all these changes taking place, Canadian Tire stated that it can achieve its targets without further increasing its capital expenditures.
Connection:
This article ties in closely with the simple small ratios in chapter 15.3 and to be more precise, the rate of return on equity and the rate of return on net sales. The actions taken by Canadian Tire all share the common focus, to increase the rate of return on net sales and the rate of return on owner’s equity. By increasing the sales, profit and the return on equity to shareholders, Canadian Tire can automatically increase the rate of return on net sales and owner’s equity. Since these two ratios are vital to the outsiders when it comes to analyzing a company’s financial health, Canadian Tire must maintain and increase these ratios in order to impress the outsiders.
Reflection:
From my perspective, I believe Canadian Tire is taking the correct actions by putting its customers and investors as its priority. If I was an investor and I was told that Canadian Tire will increase its rate of return on equity to shareholders, I would be interested to invest into Canadian Tire because there’s a high chance of dividend. The increase of the two ratios can also raise the value of the stock as it can prove to the outsiders that the company is performing well. I strongly believe that Canadian Tire will have an optimistic future if it can achieve its goals.
Summary:
Canadian Tire decided to return its focus in the automotive parts and services. They have devised a three-to-five year strategic plan by sharply focusing on its automotive segment and core retail. By doing so, Canadian Tire may boost its shareholders’ return on equity through drenching more profit and sales from its current 479 stores and the impending 11 new stores this year. Canadian Tire aims to increase 3%-5% in sales, 8%-10% in profit and 10%-12% in return on equity to shareholders. Along with the new stores, Canadian Tire has arranged a deal with the province to open its first 23 Canadian Tire gas stations on the 400 series of provincial highways. Also, Canadian Tire is currently reformatting its store layouts which will increase the storage space and make it more efficient for its customer’s to shop. With all these changes taking place, Canadian Tire stated that it can achieve its targets without further increasing its capital expenditures.
Connection:
This article ties in closely with the simple small ratios in chapter 15.3 and to be more precise, the rate of return on equity and the rate of return on net sales. The actions taken by Canadian Tire all share the common focus, to increase the rate of return on net sales and the rate of return on owner’s equity. By increasing the sales, profit and the return on equity to shareholders, Canadian Tire can automatically increase the rate of return on net sales and owner’s equity. Since these two ratios are vital to the outsiders when it comes to analyzing a company’s financial health, Canadian Tire must maintain and increase these ratios in order to impress the outsiders.
Reflection:
From my perspective, I believe Canadian Tire is taking the correct actions by putting its customers and investors as its priority. If I was an investor and I was told that Canadian Tire will increase its rate of return on equity to shareholders, I would be interested to invest into Canadian Tire because there’s a high chance of dividend. The increase of the two ratios can also raise the value of the stock as it can prove to the outsiders that the company is performing well. I strongly believe that Canadian Tire will have an optimistic future if it can achieve its goals.
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