The owner of Snakes and Lattes doesn’t play games when discussing the coming minimum wage hike in Ontario.

“A living wage should be guaranteed for everyone, especially in Toronto, which is a very expensive place to live,” says Ben Castanie, owner of three popular board game cafés in the city.

Unlike many in the food service industry, the entrepreneur thinks the increase is a win-win for workers and the economy, since more people will have more money in their pockets to spend.

Castanie already pays his 80 service staff between $12.50 and $14.50 an hour, far above the current legal minimum of $9.90 an hour for those who serve liquor — mainly bartenders and wait staff who make most of their income from tips.

“We will all just have to adapt,” he says.

However, the overall business community is growing anxious and has started to make some noise lately over the hikes, which the province outlined as part of sweeping labour reforms last May. The increase includes a boost from $11.40 an hour to $11.60 in October, then to $14 on Jan. 1 and to $15 the following year.

The issue was on the front burner during the recent second-quarter earnings season, during which Loblaw CEO Galen Weston bemoaned the “aggressive” raises on a conference call with analysts. He estimated that company expenses will balloon by $190 million at Canada’s largest grocery chain, and warned of coming cost cuts to accommodate the mandated increase.

Similarly, Metro Inc.’s chief executive Eric La Fleche said Tuesday that grocers are under the gun with little time to adjust to the added expense of what amounts to a 32 per cent wage increase for most of its employees in under 18 months.

Discount retailer Dollarama Inc. also said that it won’t rule out raising prices if labour costs continue to climb, while Magna International has warned that higher costs could affect its business investments in Ontario.

But Premier Kathleen Wynne paints a rosier picture; saying that giving more than a quarter of employees in the province a pay increase means more workers will benefit from Ontario’s economic growth; the province has outperformed all G7 countries over the past three years.

At the announcement of the increase, she said that new technology, a shrinking manufacturing sector and fewer union jobs have left about one-third of Ontario’s 6.6 million workers vulnerable at a time when people are working longer hours and doing more precarious, low-paying work to make ends meet.

The $15 hourly wage will match the upcoming increase in Alberta, scheduled to go into effect in October of next year. Ontario’s labour overhaul also ensures equal pay for part-time workers and an increase to the minimum vacation entitlement.

“It’s a fairly steep increase over a brief period of time,” says Pedro Antunes, deputy chief economist at the Conference Board of Canada He also points out that the move is “politically favourable” since the timing coincides with next year’s Ontario election.

Lou Russo, director of operations for the Shoeless Joe’s chain of sports bars, says the timing is particularly brutal for the restaurant industry, which just went through an expensive menu overhaul to include calorie counts on menus — also mandated by the provincial government — last January.

“The wage increase is posing a big risk to our industry. Restaurant owners will be forced to cut costs and to pass (the added expense) along to our guests,” he says.

Russo agrees that workers deserve a fair wage, but says that increases should be based on performance rather than legislation. He adds the company is looking at everything from technology to utility savings to new deals with suppliers to avoid making customers pay more in the end for their popular wings and alcohol.

“It’s a complicated issue,” says Larry Isaacs, spokesman for The Firkin Group of Pubs. “You want the working population to earn a fair wage, however businesses need to make a profit. At the same time you don’t want to upset customers by increasing prices — a conundrum to say the least,” he says.

The restaurant industry generates $32 billion a year and employs more than 470,000 people in the province.

Facing industry backlash, Wynne hinted last month at providing some relief for both small businesses and restaurateurs this fall, but so far has not provided specifics.

A coalition of business groups opposed to the changes released a report on Monday that warned the wage hike will cost the average household $1,300 a year and put 185,000 jobs at risk. Industry association Restaurants Canada recently released a survey of its members that found 95 per cent of owners believe the wage hike will hurt them. It found 98 per cent will raise menu prices and 81 per cent will lay off staff, while more than one-quarter would close one or more locations.

The province says half of the workers in Ontario who earn less than $15 per hour are between the ages of 25 and 64, and the majority are women.

Dave Bryans, CEO of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association, also notes the increase will “undoubtedly mean fewer retail jobs, particularly for students and other part-time workers,” and that owners are already burdened with high hydro prices.

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However, an open letter from about 40 economists, mostly from Canadian universities, says such talk is “fear-mongering” that is out of line with the latest economic research.

“While Canada escaped the harshest impacts of the 2007-08 financial crisis, our country has also seen a slowdown in growth. We risk further stagnation without reinvigorated economic motors. As those with lower incomes spend more of what they earn than do those with higher incomes, raising the minimum wage could play a role in economic revival,” it says.

As for Castanie, he admits it will be an adjustment, but one that betters society as a whole.

“I grew up in Europe where the minimum wage is higher, as it should be,” he says.