Some Ontario asparagus farmers may stop growing the crop if the province increases minimum wages.
"To walk away from it is devastating," said Sarah Harrison, co-owner of Mazak Farms, where asparagus is the main source of income for the four decades old farm just south of London. "We will find a way to survive but as produce farmers – I'm not sure if that's going to be it."
Harrison said she was devastated after the Ontario government announced in May a plan to increase the provincial minimum wage from $11.40 to $15 an hour by January 2019.
Every spear at three hectare farm is handpicked during the asparagus season that runs from May till June.
Harrison said the small scale business employs about six people - apart from family members - during the harvest season, and will have to cut jobs, increase prices, and take on double the work in order to survive.
Mike Colle, the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Labour, said the government is looking at ways to mitigate the impact on employers, however, minimum wage workers are the priority.
"How can you defend the status quo that leaves to many people that are generally women, new comers who can't speak English, and in racialized communities below low poverty situations," he said. "How much longer?"
