A 2.5 per cent increase in the Yukon's minimum wage, effective April 1, has received mixed reactions from members of the community.

This latest boost will raise the minimum wage from $8.37 to $8.58 per hour, the Yukon government said Monday.

In March 2006, the government decided to support the Yukon Employment Standards Board's recommendation to annually "set the minimum wage against the Consumer Price Index (CPI)" as a way of keeping minimum wage proportional to the cost of living in the territory, says a government news release.

Since the annual CPI figures, released by Statistics Canada on Jan. 25, show a 2.5 per cent increase, the Yukon's minimum wage will climb accordingly.

"That's something the (Yukon) Anti-Poverty Coalition really applauded," Ross Findlater, a spokesperson for the coalition, said Monday, in reference to the annual review of the minimum wage.

"It's pretty nice. It's built-in," said Findlater.

Rick Karp, president of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce, held a different view.

"The labour market determines what the wage structure is," he said in an interview this morning. "Business doesn't need government stepping in and telling us what minimum wage should be."

Karp said the annual adjustment of the minimum wage to suit the CPI is "not a consistent or fair practice. I'm wondering if we have a negative CPI, would the wage go back down?"

Karp also pointed out that few employers in the Yukon actually pay their employees minimum wage.

"Employers are aware of the cost of living and take care of their employees," he said.

"The minimum wage is not a social net," he added. "More than 75 per cent of people on minimum wage are students. (Minimum wage) is for students who are getting into the workforce and teaches them about working. It's for their training and development.

"There are a lot of jobs to be had out there. Let's concentrate on getting people working."

Alex Furlong, president of the Yukon Federation of Labour, said today from Ottawa that although the increase is "very good for workers," he would like to see minimum wage be boosted to $10 per hour.

"Nationally, that's where the poverty line is drawn," Furlong said.

"While tying minimum wages to the CPI is good, we would like the government to increase it immediately to $10 per hour and then tie it to the CPI.

"I don't think it would be a stretch for the government to increase it to $10 per hour because most employers (in the Yukon) pay that anyway."

NDP MLA Steve Cardiff said early this afternoon he thinks it's important that more public consultation about the minimum wage take place.

The government news release says that "the public consultation on the Yukon minimum wage that was announced by the previous (Yukon Employment Standards) board, that was to have taken place in the fall of 2006, will not proceed at this time."

"They need to hear what Yukoners are saying," said Cardiff.

He said he doesn't think the current minimum wage is enough for families who must pay for basic necessities such as food and housing.

"The cost of basic necessities keeps going up," he said. "I don't believe (the new minimum wage) will cover them."

He called a minimum hourly wage of $10 "a good start."