CCPA Paper - A Living Wage as a Human Right

In Canada, many workers do not earn a living wage — that is, sufficient income to afford the basics of life — because of discrimination. Women workers and those who are racialized, immigrant, Aboriginal, living with disabilities or similarly disadvantaged are all segregated into low wage job ghettoes. Many experience discrimination on a number of grounds. While pay equity is often only considered in relation to women’s work, workers from each of these backgrounds take home less pay than other workers in Canada. Their work is devalued and the problem is systemic.