Ontario state of emergency hurts businesses close to Quebec border

"We have to reopen safely. I understand the problems these businesses are going through," said Premier Doug Ford on Tuesday.

In Quebec, businesses are opening back up which means for some Ottawa salons, their customers will likely just go over to Gatineau, Quebec, for the same services.

Initially, the state of emergency was to end on June 9 but Ontario has since extended the measure to remain in place until the end of June, meaning restaurants and personal care must remain closed for the time being.

"My livelihood, my business, everything [is in peril], to be honest," Nault said. "I'll be lucky if I can make it to the end of the summer." said Lucas Nault, a Centretown hairdresser who recently merged his business with another salon just before the pandemic began.

Nault founded the Ontario Salon & Spa Owner and Stylist Collective to pressure the government into allowing them to reopen if they won't because as Nault says, the government relief programs aren't enough to keep his business from going under, especially with an uncertain reopen date.

"We've got people that feel that with [personal protective equipment] and with proper government guidance that we can reopen ... but we also have people on the other side that don't feel safe to reopen and aren't ready," said Nault. "I want everybody to have a choice rather than be forced."

Other salon owners, like Stephanie Boucher of Stephanoti's Hair have already ordered protective equipment in preparation for when they can reopen. "We've been ready for about a month now," she said.

Another fear for both Nault and Boucher is that their clients may just cross the Ottawa River and go to a Gatineau salon for the same service.

Mark Kaluski, chair of the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas (OCOBIA), says that it's not just the hairdressers who are hurting by the difference in provincial restrictions, nail salons and massage parlours have also seen their cliental driving across the border for the same reason.

"Right across the river, their restrictions are much less severe. A lot of retailers and services are seeing the money just walk across the bridge over to Gatineau. There's a sense of unfairness through all this," said Kaluski.

Kaluski believes that the top priority should be public health safety however it's hard to convince business owner of that as they are at a significant risk of losing their businesses. Kaluski said he supports the idea of allowing businesses in eastern Ontario to reopen faster than the rest of the province because the amount COVID-19 cases in the area is in decline.

The Quebec minister for the Gatineau region and the city's mayor have both urged residents of Ottawa not to cross the river to in order to use their services.

The Government of Ontario has safety guidelines regarding personal care providers like barbers and hairdressers posted on its website.