I find it quite interesting how the concept of the minimum wage changed once the Campbell Liberal Government took office. Before that the expression meant the lowest wage that could legally be paid for an hour's work in the province. It was a noun, "wage" modified by an adjective, "minimum" and it literally meant the minimum wage it was legal to pay. That is, after all, what the words actually mean according to the dictionary of your choice.

Extremely cynically I thought, the Liberals changed the term from an adjective modifying a noun to a compound noun, "minimum wage", that is they repackaged the two word expression as a new name for a designated amount. They then introduced another compound noun as a name for the lowest legally payable amount, calling it the "training wage". Of course, this is not a "training" (adjective) "wage" (noun) at all, as it is paid to young people for the first six months employment whether they are being trained or not. It is the "training wage" (compound noun), a new minimum wage as it was defined using the old definition that most people understood the words to mean.

Why do this? Well, it was so they could weasel out of keeping an election promise not to lower the "minimum" (adjective) "wage" (noun). Extremely cynical and thoroughly dishonest, tantamount to lieing in my book.

Why a petition? Governments don't respond to petitions. Nor to any angry mobs espousing certain causes. If they did, I sure would worry about democracy per se. They don't have to respond to petitions because they are elected, have a mandate and subsequently don't spend a lot of time catering to the whims of special interest groups that rock the proverbial boat. I say we should have a petition that would make petitions illegal. I'd sign that. If this comment has offended anyone I sincerely apologize. Sure am nice, ain't I?

Well, I don't know if you are nice or not Harbinger. Sometimes people feel hopeless and action seems better than inaction. The Province of British Columbia pays the lowest in all of Canada so that doesn't say a lot for us. You may be very nice, I don't know.

I'm not really nice. I was jest yankin' yer chain.

Wow ammonra, I bet if someone asked you the time, you would build them a watch.

Probably not, dow7500, although I was quite interested in dismantling clocks and playing with all the cogs when I was a little boy :-)

It's just been irritating me ever since it happened :-(