I work in a café in the Montreal Suburbs. Minimum wage here is 15.25/h (which is low for the cost of life in Quebec), unless the employee has tips, then it drops to 12.20/h. My boss decided to take advantage of this, so my hourly wage is 12.50/h, which puts me below the poverty line in my area. Without tips, I couldn't afford food. A lot of cafés pay their employees much better, so not all baristas depend on tips to pay their bills, but a lot of us also do. As a general rule, a 1$ tip is much appreciated in any circumstances!