THUNDER BAY -- On Thursday, several salon owners plan to open their doors in defiance of the province's closure orders, saying they cannot afford to keep their businesses shuttered any longer -- for both their financial sake and mental health concerns for them and their employees.
Frank Lombardo, owner of Arthur Street's Mirror Mirror, has been among the most vocal and says he plans to start offering haircuts on Thursday, the day Ontario's stay-at-home order comes to an end.
Lombardo agreed to speak with TBNewswatch about the reasons why he's standing up against the governmnt.
TBNewswatch: Why have some owners in Thunder Bay decided to re-open on June 3rd?
Frank Lombardo: Salon owners in Thunder Bay have decided to open on June 3 to create awareness and attention to our sector that is still closed after many months and numerous broken promises made by the provincial government. I have heard that as many as 50 salons will open the doors on June 3 out of protest. Some are planning to remain open. I don't know which ones they are, but there are some. The goal we are trying to achieve is to open a line of communication. We have exhausted all other options to try and reach a higher government, and we continue to get ignored. We need to re-open our businesses. Our families are essential.
TBN: Do you believe the service you offer is safe for the general public?
FL: Based on all data collected, recorded, and published by the government, the personal care sector is the safest in Ontario. This statement is not my personal opinion. This statement is based on accurate and indisputable data provided by the Ontario government themselves.
TBN: Are you worried about backlash from public health officials if you open?
FL: I would imagine that our local health unit and its officials are very frustrated also and understand our situation. They are good people. They have always shown compassion and understanding to our industry, and their job isn't easy either. They also receive mixed messages from the government, and they're always perceived to be villains.
People do not realize that they are just doing their job, and they are real people too, who have also been affected by the pandemic. They get treated poorly by everyone for just doing their job, and sometimes they may disagree with the rules, but they will have to enforce them simply because it is their job. They are not bullies, unreasonable or rude.
They are people just like you and me, and sometimes the general public forgets this. I think people do not understand that the last year and a half have also been a living nightmare for those working in the health unit. It is unfair that they are taking ALL the heat and criticism, and they don't even make the rules. I've always found that they have shown me respect and compassion, which is appreciated, but I'm assuming they will have to do their job.
TBN: What do you think about allowing vaccinated fans in the hockey game? Should Ontario let non-essential businesses open their doors to the vaccinated public?
Doug Ford quoted on Twitter: "I can't think of a better way to support the Maple Leafs in this crucial game."
This is purely disgusting. Are you letting fans attend a hockey game during a stay at home order? This makes me sick to my stomach for so many reasons. Crucial hockey game? Fans at hockey game during our stay-at-home order” is crucial during a pandemic?
My business is closed for five months and counting without a specific return date, and the hockey game is crucial? You are not allowed to have a funeral indoors, but you can watch hockey indoors?
The 50- to 100-acre outdoor cemetery is limited to 10 people for a burial? But the 15-acre Scotia Bank Arena allows 550 people for the "crucial game?" The schools are closed, businesses are closed, livelihoods ruined, life has stopped, depression and suicide are through the roof, lives ruined mentally and financially. This hockey game is essential? Good Job, Mr. Doug Ford. If he can allow fans at a hockey game, I can sure think it is safe to re-open my business.
TBN: Should Ontario allow non-essential businesses to be open to fully vaccinated people?
FL: Every Canadian has a right to choose what they want to do with their own body. All Canadians should be respected for their individual personal decision, whatever it is and whatever personal reasons they may have, and no individual should be granted or denied special privileges based on their individual and personal decision. It is our Canadian right to be treated equally. Non-Essential businesses and all of Canada should now be open to all, operating safely, treating all people equally.
TBN: Could your business survive the fourth wave? How concerned are you about your industry going forward? What is the long-term damage being done to the personal care industry?
FL: Our industry and many others that are 100 per cent shut down will be in grave danger moving forward if there is not a different plan in place for us. The long-term damage will take years to recover if it ever does. The personal care industry now has a stigma that will be hard to erase overnight and will take some time to regroup. Thus far, we have received minimal financial support and if a fourth wave arrives we’re in big trouble as an industry.
Business owners will be handing the keys to the landlord and the banks; experienced and trained professionals will make career changes, cosmetology/barber/nail artistry/esthetic schools and colleges will have zero enrolment. It will be truly devastating.
Our government needs to communicate with our industry and reclassify our industry with similar settings, and we need to stay open as much as possible. When creating a new framework, we MUST reconsider including our industry into the same category as dental, physiotherapy and massage therapy since our industry has similar or less exposure and contact.
Allow us to open at the same capacity as any of these aforementioned industries. The Ontario government must never exclude our sector ever again. We have a Canadian right to survive.
