St. Paul salon owner says she is staying open despite AHS restrictions

One salon owner in St. Paul is taking a stand to keep her hair salon open despite the recent restrictions enacted by the Alberta government.

Dana Canan-Karbashewski owns Town ‘N’ Country Hair Fashions in St. Paul and says she will be keeping her door open for customers and retail shopping during the current lockdown.

“It’s beyond frustrating and I don’t think Jason Kenney completely has a grasp or understands our industry,” Canan-Karbashewski told Lakeland Connect. “We’re like super clean, we are regularly inspected and Alberta Health Services don’t call ahead and tell us they’re coming, the health inspector just shows up.”

Canan-Karbashewski says she is frustrated because the Lakeland Region has a low number of COVID-19 cases and feels the restrictions are  hurting small Canadian businesses. She feels the rules are unclear and are stricter for certain businesses.

“If you go to a restaurant they want to know what your name is, they want to know what your phone number is,” Canan-Karbashewski  said. “But 200 people can make a line outside of a Costco, standing shoulder to shoulder and nobody takes your name down, nobody takes your phone number down. It’s okay to do at Costco and Walmart, but small Canadian businesses are forced to shut down. It makes no sense.”

Canan-Karbashewski says the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a tole on her customers because personal wellness services are important to peoples mental health.

“It affects their lives and so so many different ways,” Canan-Karbashewski said. “You can say that it’s just a haircut, who cares or oh it’s just a color, what does it matter, but your hair is something you take with you everywhere you go. Girls can’t put hats on and go to work, and there are still a lot of women out there who are going to work, and when your hair looks good, you feel good.”

The hair salon owner plans to defy the public health orders set out by the Alberta government which could result in hefty fines but she says she is taking a stand by herself and won’t bring staff into work. Currently the fine for defying public health orders in Alberta ranges from $1,000 to $100,000.

Canan-Karbashewski knows bills don’t pay themselves and she will be posting on social media her hours of operation and will remain open servicing one client at a time she says because her she has to.

She says she will remain open and try to keep her business alive, “No matter what Kenney says.”

To view the full interview with Dana click here.