True You Salon & Spa in Calgary is considering opening its doors Monday despite public health orders that forbid it from doing so.
“It’s nerve-racking — we would 100 per cent get supporters and we would 100 per cent get backlash,” said True You Salon & Spa’s Adam Spence.
Spence’s fiancé is a co-owner of the hair salon, which only opened eight weeks before COVID-19 pandemic restrictions started.
“It’s a frustration of ‘What do we do?’ It wouldn’t be a protest to open. It would be open to survive,” he said.
Premier Jason Kenney announced Thursday that current restrictions will stay in place until at least Jan. 21 because of the high number of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in Alberta.
“They’re losing savings and they can’t continue anymore, so it’s either open the doors or close them permanently,” Spence said.
Spence isn’t alone in his fight. An online petition to bring back the beauty industry in Alberta continues to grow.
However, the City of Calgary’s Public Health Compliance Team will be conducting inspections.
Any non-essential businesses found violating public health measures could face fines and a suspension or cancellation of their business licence.
“We will be monitoring compliance through proactive inspections,” said Michael Briegel, the City of Calgary’s chief business licence inspector.
“We also respond to complaints via 311 from the public and complaints received from Alberta Health Services.”
Briegel is a member of the Public Health Compliance Team, which is made up of partners from AHS, the Calgary Police Service, Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis and Occupational Health and Safety.