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15_V1_WAT_Nov30 • No Cost or Fee to Apply • Approval within 48 Hours • Thousands Paid Monthly! • See Website for Application Deadline. Do You Have More than 20 lbs to Lose? - Apply Now! $2,000 WEIGHT LOSS GRANT Please visit www.weightlossgrants.org for full Guidelines, Terms & Conditions. www.weightlossgrants.org Th ursday, November 30, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 15Serving your community since 1856 CITY LIFE Meet Trixie, a 12 pound, thee-year-old Flemish Giant. Trixie has so much love to give. She enjoys to be pampered like a princess should be. Trixie has been in our care since Oct. 23 and would love to have her own room and be spoiled with greens and attention. If you have a giant piece of love missing in your life, Trixie is the rabbit for you. Please come and meet her today. To meet Trixie, or other pets available for adoption, visit the K-W Humane Society at 250 Riverbend Dr. in Kitchener, or call 519- 745-5615. SUBMITTED PHOTO By Lisa Rutledge For the Chronicle The living wage rate in Waterloo Region is going up to $16.10 in 2018, an increase driven by higher costs of rent and child care, say ana- lysts at Living Wage Waterloo Region. The living wage rate, an hourly wage workers must earn to survive and thrive in the region, is bumping up by 68 cents thanks to the increased costs of living and raising a family. For example, the most recent statistics posted by the Canada Mortgage and House Corporation show an increase of $300 a month in rental rates in Waterloo Region from 2015 to 2016, explained Anne Cole- man, program manager at Liv- ing Wage Waterloo Region. And while new federal gov- ernment child care subsidies to families with young children contributed to a drop in the 2017's living wage rate, those extras haven't kept up with ris- ing costs of child care in the region. � e current living wage rate in the region is $15.42, down 63 cents from 2016. Not to be confused with the minimum wage rate in Ontario, which will move to $14 an hour in 2018 ($15 an hour in 2019), the living wage is a recommended hourly pay set by Living Wage Waterloo Region to provide a guideline for employers who want to do their part to generate social change. "� e living wage is really is a practical tool for employers, to ensure they're paying their employees properly," said Coleman. "It basically is a tool to reduce poverty through paid work." � e living wage rate is cal- culated using a national frame- work formula, but re� ects local costs like rent, food, hydro, transportation and child care, as well as costs of participat- ing in local community activi- ties. The rates are based on what it would cost a family of four with two parents working full-time jobs for a full year to cover their costs of living and still be actively engaged in their community's recreational and social programs. So far, 44 employers in the region have volunteered to pay employees the living wage rate and also ensure anyone work- ing indirectly for their business is paid the same hourly wage. While Living Wage Water- loo Region officials applaud these employers for their com- mitment to focusing on social change and going above and beyond for their employees, Coleman maintains paying a living wage is also good for the bottom line. "It's a real testament that they're willing to do this," she said. "I think in some ways a lot of business models are focused on getting by with the mini- mum or paying sta� the mini- mum, whereas these employ- ers really see that there's a ben- e� t in how they treat their sta� . "Over and over our employ- ers tell us that the living wage has increased their sta� reten- tion so they spend less time on hiring and less time on train- ing and their sta� are therefore more productive." � e Living Wage Employer Program is open to all busi- nesses, non-profit organi- zations and public sector employers. For more information, visit www.livingwagewr.org. Living wage rate goes up to $16.10