Salon owner fined $1,000 after undercover inspector tricks them into cutting hair

On December 11, 2020, Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw outlawed salon services such as haircutting. This Salon provides hairdressing services, but also sells a large variety of personal care products. Thus Mr. Dagher did open his shop, but only for the purchasing of hair products. The door to the shop was kept locked and customers would have to knock in order to be allowed inside.

On December 27, a woman knocked on the door of the salon and Mr. Dagher allowed her in, while under the impression she wanted to buy products. Once inside, this woman asked the owner for a haircut. The owner answered yes, keeping in mind the favour asked by this one woman and the current financial constraints of his family business.

The woman then announced herself as AHS health inspector Anne Hoang and told Mr. Dagher that he had broken the law by agreeing to cut her hair, and that he would receive a ticket. In addition to fining the salon $1,000, Hoang proceeded to issue a notice to the public, stating that the business is violating public health orders and is cutting peoples hair. The JCCF argues that this has led to an unfair amount of public contempt towards the salon. This notice was also posted on the door of the salon and Mr. Dagher was not allowed to take it down as it would violate the Public Health Act.

“The oppressive orders of the Chief Medical Officer of Health are choking the life out of small businesses in Alberta and depriving people of the ability to feed their families. For Mr. Dagher, to have an AHS inspector bait him into agreeing to give her a haircut is to kick him while he’s down. This was a set up,” states Justice Centre Lawyer James Kitchen.

“The actions of Ms. Hoang in requesting Mr. Dagher give her a haircut are repugnant and a gross abuse of power. In a time when the government seeks to justify its destructive lockdown policies and rights infringements by claiming that adhering to public health restrictions is the kind thing to do, the cruelty of AHS inspectors using the allure of much-needed income to target and ticket small business owners is especially hypocritical,” concludes Kitchen.

Salons were eventually permitted to resume providing services on January 18, 2021, following massive public pressure on the Albertan government.

Mr. Dagher has plead not guilty to his ticket. No trial date has yet been set.