The flip-flop-flip of Premier Dalton McGuinty over the province's scheduled minimum wage increases does not inspire confidence, and accelerates growing concern that he's a good-times premier who is now, in this economic crisis, floundering out of his depth.

The premier confided to business leaders behind closed doors in Ottawa on Friday that, in the face of the economic crisis, he was open to cancelling the next scheduled raise in the minimum wage, to $10.25 on March 31, 2010. By Monday, he did an about-face, contritely saying he was wrong and that the increase would stand.

McGuinty managed a rare hat trick: He delighted the opposition and managed to anger both the antipoverty sector and business leaders. What was he thinking?

Aside from the fact his finance minister had just delivered a budget speech that made no mention of the minimum wage, McGuinty had long before committed to annual increases to make up for eight years of indifference when it stagnated at $6.85 through the '90s.

And, in fact, McGuinty pledged last year to further increases after 2010, saying "the minimum wage should continue to grow in a progressive way that has some bearing on inflation and the cost of living." He has supported the thinking that the weight of the recession should not fall on social-assistance recipients and the working poor -- largely consisting of adults making minimum wage. Source.