Halifax: According to a publication released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - Nova Scotia (CCPA-NS), the Nova Scotia real minimum wage has decreased by more than $2.00 over the past 25 years. The study, Undermining Wages in Nova Scotia: The Minimum Wage from 1976 - 2002, finds that the current minimum wage buys almost 30% less than it did in 1976 and this has contributed to the number of "working poor" in Nova Scotia.