When British Columbia’s minimum wage was boosted from $11.35 to $12.65 – an increase of more than 11 per cent – not everyone was celebrating.
Certainly it was good news for minimum wage earners in the province, most of whom are teenagers or young adults under the age of 24, but it will take a toll on many small businesses. With more hikes to come on the way to a minimum wage level of $15.20 within the next three years, some business owners are finding it increasingly difficult to cope.
Indeed, Facebook was alive with minimum wage discussion this week.
Former Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce president George Gates, who along with his partner Evelyn, operate the increasingly popular Farm Gate Inn near Lake Cowichan was among the business owners to comment.
“Minimum wage is up, electricity is up, gas is up, cost of goods are up, all taxes are up from local, provincial to federal,” Gates noted.
“(They’re) taking more and more from the small businesses. Even the price of eggs is going up nine cents a dozen. Small business employs 80 per cent of our population here in BC. Something is going to break soon.”
Certainly large retailers and food service giants like MacDonalds or A & W can handle the increase in minimum wage, but for thousands of mom and pop operators, additional expenses can be devastating. In many cases the margins are minuscule to begin with. Another local business owner, Tina Short of A Memorable Gift, agrees with Gates.
“If you add up all the hours we work on the business, yes, you would want to give up and go get a minimum wage job,” Short opines.
She’s correct when she suggests people who have never owned a small business don’t understand the realities of surviving in an increasingly competitive retail world. Many small business owners can only dream of making $12.65 an hour.