Keep Salons Open in Canada

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Attention:
Premier Scott Moe
Premier John Horgan
Premier Doug Ford
Premier Jason Kenney
Premier Brian Pallister
Premier Stephen McNeil
Premier Joe Savikataaq
Premier Sandy Silver
Premier Dwight Ball
Premier Caroline Cochrane
Premier François Legault
Premier Blaine Higgs
Premier Dennis King

As new restrictions are imminent in most Canadian provinces, ABA Canada, the country’s largest Association of Beauty Professionals in the personal services sector is calling for the continued operation of 35,000 establishments in Canada. The ABA and its members want to remind the Government that “We are Safe”.

ABA members have been exceeding the standards and guidelines issued by Health Canada and provincial authorities. Recently, ABA surveyed their membership and found that members have served over 236,000 clients across Canada in a very short time. Of these clients, only 16 cases of COVID were reported. “We attribute this extremely low incident rate of COVID in our members establishments to the extended measures we have taken as an industry to ensure the safety of our customers.” says Sandra Fiore, Chairperson of ABA Canada.

The consequence of closing this industry will have serious economic and health implications. Clients may pressure their stylist to work outside the salon and without the resources necessary to stay safe. We do not want to take the chance that professionals and their clients may take any unnecessary risks while working from home. The safest place is in a professional salon.

We are equally concerned that the industry will not recover from the economic impact of closing a second time. The personal services industry represents over $12 billion in annual revenue. These businesses are mainly run by women (e.g. 75% of hair salon employees). Most of these businesses are small to medium sized. 50% of Professionals in the industry are self- employed. Closing this industry in the second wave would most likely plunge 40% of these businesses, and likely the individuals who own them, into bankruptcy. That is over 10,000 businesses that may never recover. Owners are people not statistics.

In the face of the overwhelming efforts of the professional beauty industry to meet and exceed all Covid related guidelines, we encourage the government to consider the facts above and we ask consumers to let their local politicians know that the personal care industry feels safe to them, and is safe. We heartily support, and have supported, proper protocols in the personal care industry to help keep our doors open.

We are ready to work together to continue to keep our businesses safe for the health and wellbeing of Canadians. Thank you for your consideration.

Sandra Fiore
Executive Director
Allied Beauty Association
ABACanada.com

Allied Beauty Association (ABA)

The Allied Beauty Association (ABA) is a registered not-for-profit Canadian organization that represents the Canadian professional beauty industry with respect to hair, nails and aesthetics. It is a trade association of 18,000 salons, spas, aesthetic studios and nail bars owners and managers and the professionals working in the professional beauty industry as well as manufacturers, distributors and associate companies supplying professional beauty products and equipment for the use of beauty salons and spas.

See the release here: Keep Salons Open in Canada

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