Peridot gemstones smaller than three carats are very common but gemstones over five carats are rare and therefore have a higher value. Peridot in 10 to 15 carats are even more rare, but provide a big and bold look for an affordable price.
MONTREAL -- Quebec will raise the province's minimum wage to $12 an hour as of May 1, Labour Minister Dominique Vien announced Wednesday. More than 352,000 workers stand to benefit from the 75-cent increase, the largest hike in Quebec history. Vien said in a statement the rise is in line with a four-year plan to have the minimum wage equivalent to 50 per cent of the average provincial hourly wage by 2020, without exceeding that level.
The minimum wage goes up to $10 an hour today in Massachusetts, putting the Bay State up there with California in having one of the highest minimum wages in the country. Under a state law passed in 2014, the minimum wage was set to increase over three years. In 2015, the minimum wage increased to $9 an hour, and in 2017, the minimum wage will increase to $11. According to the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, the increase in 2016 to $10 an hour will affect 450,000 workers.