A number of full-time employees in fast food and chain stores don't receive a living wage and are forced to go to soup kitchens to make ends meet.

That's the opinion of Ross Findlater of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition.

In response to questions from the Star, he said many people working in Whitehorse spend as much as 50 or 60 per cent of their monthly incomes on rent.

This means these people, he added, have little disposable income for items such as food or clothing, and are forced to seek out the help of charities such as the Salvation Army or Maryhouse to make it through the month.

'People are paying a high percentage of their monthly income towards rent.

'It's one of the reasons we're seeing a lot of people use services such as the soup kitchen at the Salvation Army,' Findlater said.

During the course of his work in the Yukon, he said, he has become aware that many people working in the service industry, fast food restaurants and chain stores do not earn enough to live on, forcing many to go to charities or seek a second, or even a third, job.

'We've certainly heard from individuals who are working two and three jobs to make ends meet for their family,' he said.

Findlater said families and individuals facing a cash crunch are often forced to make tough choices at the supermarket, often buying cheaper, less nutritious packaged food instead of the fresher, healthier options.

He said he supports the efforts of the National Anti-Poverty Organization to have the minimum wage in the territory, and the country, raised to $10 per hour to allow for a more livable wage.

At the end of last year, the Yukon government announced it was looking into having the minimum wage in the territory raised to $8.25 an hour, a move that has sparked discontent in the territory's labour circles.

Maryhouse executive director Kate O'Donnell confirmed Tuesday there are a number of employed people using her organization's food bank services.

'I do know there are people (with jobs) who come to us,' she said.

According to the Yukon Bureau of Statistics, people working in the accommodation, food service and trade industry are among the lowest-paid employees in the Yukon.

Employment earning figures published in 2005 by the bureau show a vast difference in bi-weekly earnings in various market sectors.

According to bureau figures, every two weeks:

• The average Yukoner earns $823.23 weekly.

• People involved in the goods-producing industry earn $1,072.58.

• Construction workers earn $976.67.

• Trade industry workers earn $580.75.

• Public administrators earn $964.49.

• Transportation and warehouse workers earn $919.77.

• Accommodation and food service workers earn $498.90.

The median rent in Whitehorse, according to the bureau, is currently $675 per month.

According to research conducted for the Government of Canada and released in December 2004, there are approximately 653,000 (2001) low-income workers in Canada and 1.5 million people directly affected by low income.

The research also showed that people earning lower wages are less likely to have access to services such as life insurance and dental care.

According to the research, which used information gathered from the 2001 national census, 17.9 per cent of low-income workers had access to life or disability insurance compared with 61.5 per cent of higher-income earners.

The research also showed that 10.8 per cent of low-income earners were unionized compared to 30.3 per cent of higher-income earners; 15.1 per cent of low-income workers had access to a pension plan compared to 48.7 per cent of higher earners; and 25.6 per cent of low-income workers had a dental plan compared to 74.6 per cent of higher-income earners.

'In Canada, as in other countries, there are people who enter the labour market and exert a significant work effort, but who find it difficult to make ends meet.

'These people are the working poor,' the research states.