The governing Liberals are hiking the costs of driving, increasing fees for new driverâs licences and renewals to $80 from $75 starting next year. Getting a vehicle licence validation sticker in southern Ontario, which currently costs $74, will go up to $82 next year and hit $98 in 2014.Northern Ontario will see a more modest increase, with stickers going up by $4 to $41 this year and reaching $49 in 2014.Driving exams â which currently range between $10 for a written test to $75 for a practical test â will cost between $5 and $10 more. Replacing a licence will cost $15, an increase of $5.Fees for truck and bus operators, trailers, farm, off-road and snow vehicles are also going up. A permit for a snowmobile â currently $30 â will go up by $1 in 2013 and reach $33 by 2015.eplacing a licence will cost $15, an increase of $5. Fees for truck and bus operators, trailers, farm, off-road and snow vehicles are also going up. A permit for a snowmobile â currently $30 â will go up by $1 in 2013 and reach $33 by 2015.
McDonald's announced Monday that it raked in $1.5 billion in profits in the third quarter, up 5 percent from last year. The number is strikingly close to the $1.2 billion taxpayers are shelling out each year to help pay public assistance to the McDonald's workforce, according to a report released last week by the National Employment Law Project.
On Wednesday, McDonald's announced that starting this July, it will increase wages for the 90,000 workers who are directly employed by one of the company's restaurants. The plan is to bring the current hourly wage up by $1; the average McDonald's employee will make $9.90 by July and $10 by 2016. Benefits like paid vacation time will be available for employees who have worked for the company for more than a year. The raise, however, only applies to employees of the actual restaurant. The 750,000 workers employed by franchises, which make up 90 percent of McDonald's restaurants, are not included in this wage hike. The fact that a $1.00 raise for 90,000 workers is headline news is evidence of how low the bar has been set, the Economic Policy Institute noted in a statement.