KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – After some hesitation the Nova Scotia NDP has now joined the Fight for Fifteen in Nova Scotia.

“Our NDP caucus agrees in principle with a $15 provincial minimum wage. We are writing to the provincial minimum wage panel requesting they conduct the proper analysis and consultation to develop a strategy to reach this target,” writes NDP caucus spokesperson Mark Laventure on behalf of interim leader Maureen MacDonald.

The minimum wage panel is a non-partisan committee that makes recommendations on the minimum wage based on annual inflation rates.

“The Alberta NDP government announced a plan to achieve a $15 provincial minimum wage by 2018 and we believe they’ve taken a solid approach,” the email concludes. 

It's been a good week for the Nova Scotia Fight For Fifteen campaign.

On Monday delegates at the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour convention instructed the leadership to initiate a campaign in support of a $15-per-hour minimum wage.

The Nova Scotia NDP is a late convert to the cause.

In May of this year the Halifax Media Co-op was told that only a policy convention could endorse the $15 pr hour minimum wage target.

“As a caucus, we agree a $15 minimum wage is much closer to a living wage and worthy of research and discussion. Our party has a history of making this type of policy democratically at our policy conventions and we will continue to be guided by our party's policy on this issue,” an NDP caucus spokesperson wrote at that time.

All three NDP leadership candidates are on record as supporting the demand. The federal NDP campaigned on a $15/hr minimum wage for workers within the federal jurisdiction during the last election.

A report published by the Nova Scotia office of the Canadian Centre of for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) earlier this summer concluded that $20.10 per hour is what is really needed to live and raise a family in Halifax.

See also: Nova Scotia needs a raise

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