New Brunswick is sticking with its plan to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour over the next 20 months — with one of the increases coming in the middle of the government's September re-election campaign.

But Labour Minister Donald Arseneault said the minimum wage is not about politics.

"To bring our minimum wage to the Atlantic average by September 2011 is a priority issue for our province if we are going to reduce the level of poverty in our province," Arseneault said Tuesday.

About four per cent of New Brunswick workers earn the minimum wage.

The wage will rise in four steps:

• April 1, 2010: an increase of 25 cents to $8.50 per hour.
• Sept. 1, 2010, an increase of 50 cents to $9 per hour.
• April 1, 2011: an increase of 50 cents to $9.50 per hour.
• Sept. 1, 2011: an increase of 50 cents to $10 per hour.

Some small business owners are worried about their ability to afford what amounts to a 21 per cent increase, given that the minimum wage was boosted twice last year. There was a 25-cent increase on April 15 and again on Sept. 1, bringing the wage to $8.25 an hour.

Kylee Douglas, the owner of Sagrati's, said her soup and sandwich shop in the Saint John City Market has absorbed five increases in the minimum wage over the last three years. Douglas said she's not sure she can withstand four more increases.

Owner expects layoffs

"It's going to be devastating for me personally — for my business," Douglas said.

She said she would almost certainly have to lay off staff and, as a last resort, raise prices as the next four waves of wage increases hit her business.

The Human Development Council of Saint John endorses the increase.

"Our position is if you work, you should earn a living wage and $10 an hour will get you close to the poverty line," said Randy Hatfield, council executive director.

But to reach $10, the minimum wage has had to jump 50 per cent in just five years. Many of the increases came during the recession, which the Graham government itself used as an excuse to cancel wage increases for provincial employees to save $55 million.

Last March, former New Brunswick finance minister Victor Boudreau along with Premier Shawn Graham announced they were killing wage hikes for their employees because of the weak economy and then froze welfare rates to the poor for the same reason.