As of yesterday (October 1), Alberta officially pays the highest minimum wage in Canada at $15/hour.

While changes to the standard minimum wage amount have occurred in increments over time, it was yesterday's final increase that had the public buzzing.

Provincial Minister of Labour, Christina Gray, says with Alberta restaurants and retailers experiencing a 'boom' the increase is a great news story. "I am really excited about minimum wage hitting fifteen dollars per hour. Minimum wage is making life more affordable and we know who is benefitting; it is women, families, hardworking friends and neighbours of ours. Making sure we have the backs of workers and that we're having that immediate impact of more money in their pockets, money they can spend in our local economy is not just good for the worker but for Alberta overall. We have seen record restaurant and retail sales recently and the economy is in recovery right now with the highest GDP in the country. I think as our economy recovers it is important for all Albertans to earn a fair wage and contribute back to the economy."

Unfortunately, not all independent retailers and restaurant owners feel the same. Cochrane has seen it's fair share of businesses close shop for a variety of reasons that many owners can sympathize with.

Bonnie Bend, Owner of Great Things in Store says the impact of raising the minimum wage has hit her particularly hard. "For us, it's huge. For retail, restaurants, childcare, I think those are some of the main industries that are on such thin margins it is a significant increase in our costs."

In response to retailers experiencing record sales, Bend says she would like to be introduced to them. "None of the retailers I know are hitting record highs, we are coming out of the recession but all the retailers I know are still struggling especially because of the additional costs. You have to increase your cost so much just to come up with the cost increases and it is not just the minimum wage, it is also the stat holiday calculation, carbon tax, and the rent keeps going up."

Owners of Killarney's Family Pub, Dom Hickey, Steve Croken and Keith Thomson say they share many of the same thoughts. Watching restaurant's like the Bears Den Restaurant in nearby Bearspaw closedown has them on high alert. "They were a well established and well-respected business and if that happens to them it sends a message to other independent businesses. The fact that your costs are going up by 10 to 20 percent as far as staffing goes, will have an effect. We don't have the deep pockets that some of the chains have, so for ourselves as an independent business it is a double whammy of the minimum wage increase plus additional entrants into the market. It is already a tight market and there is only three of us to finance it, so it comes out of our pocket."

Minister Gray says she understands the challenges many businesses face which is why the Alberta government not only has the backs of workers but business owners as well. "We have done things like decreased small business tax and introduced more programs like the STEP program, and making them available to business. We are offering different tax credits and grants because we want to make sure businesses can be successful. We are seeing our economy really recovering and I know that at the end of the day these increases are not just good for the workers but good for the economy."

Another contentious point with some owners is the fact that there is no differential for pay when it comes to youth employment. Bend, says while she appreciates all Albertans should earn a decent living the one thing it has affected negatively is her ability to hire youth. While she often enjoyed offering young people their first employment experience she says the cost, now, is just too high. "We used to hire a lot of teenage staff, I like to hire around age fourteen. At fourteen, the skill level is low and teenagers have to be taught almost from scratch and it takes a long time for them to get the confidence, for example, to sell but it takes them a few years before they are truly making a business money. But now, over the last two years, it just doesn't make sense. We are now looking for people who are coming with a skillset because they have to be productive really quickly."

While Gray believes youth only make up a quarter of minimum wage earners, to begin with, she feels it's unfair to think they don't have any real financial responsibilities. "Often they are saving up to go to school, living on their own or have a child. There are a lot of different situations and making sure that every working Albertan gets that fair wage is a priority for me, and our government."

Although, Gray, says they will continue to work with various industries to monitor the overall impact she feels it has been nothing but positive. "What we've seen over the last few years with the minimum wage slowly being increased is employment gaining in both retail and food/ accommodation which are the main minimum wage hiring industries. We know that what this is doing is putting less stress in the lives of workers that are working for minimum wage, which means they will have an easier time making ends meet."

Just like many other business owners, Bend, Hickey, Croken, and Thomson are hoping they come out on the other side. Despite the United Conservative Party stating they would look at repealing the minimum wage, most aren't anticipating to see it cut anytime soon. "I think it's going to be very hard to roll back what has been put in place. In the meantime, for us, it's just playing it by ear and see how it ends up affecting us and then we need to make the business decisions that financially deal with it."

Bend reiterates she supports a fair living wage but worries the fall out effect is something we just can't predict. "A lot of businesses are struggling and I guess you can reach a point when it's just no longer worth it. Sometimes you're not even making as much as your employees, especially in the early years. Later on, you're making more but you have an awful lot of risk, a lot of money tied up in inventory and in your lease but there comes a point when people realize all of the risk and money you have to tie up in your assets to produce a wage for yourself, just becomes too much."