London North Centre MPP Terence Kernaghan is calling on the Ontario provincial government to increase worker pay and supports for residents in Tillsonburg and across Oxford County. Kernaghan says current provincial labour laws and recent changes to pay-transparency rules do not go far enough to help local residents keep up with rising costs.
Kernaghan’s request follows the province’s new pay-transparency requirements, which took effect on January 1, 2026 and require many employers to include salary ranges in publicly advertised job postings (rules generally apply to employers with 25 or more employees). Kernaghan and other critics say the measures are insufficient because they do not address total compensation or internal pay parity for existing employees.
Tillsonburg adopted its 2026 municipal budget on January 8, 2026. Local residents are facing higher household costs this year: Oxford County approved new water and wastewater rates effective January 1, 2026, and the Town of Tillsonburg raised garbage bag tag pricing (from $2 to $3 per tag) effective January 1, 2026. Kernaghan says those municipal and county-level cost increases are eroding the modest wage gains workers have seen.
To address these issues, Kernaghan is pressing for amendments to the Working for Workers Seven Act (Bill 30) and for the province to adopt a provincial living-wage standard that better reflects housing and grocery costs in communities such as Tillsonburg.
While the provincial minimum wage is projected to rise again on October 1, 2026 (projections put the general minimum wage at roughly $18.00/hour), Oxford County has already committed to paying its student employees a living wage (reported at about $19.50/hour, reflecting the London–Elgin–Oxford living-wage figure). Kernaghan says the province should follow local examples like Oxford County to ensure workers can afford to live where they work.
