By: Mike Anderson

When Ralph Hirmann heard the news that he would have to close his barbershop again, he got angry.

After all, he thought he was doing everything right. He only allowed two clients in his shop at a time, conducted temperature checks, recorded names and cell numbers, and continuously disinfected his barber tools, cape and chair, spending $400 on alcohol sanitizers each month.

“It’s frustrating,” said Mr. Hirmann, who opened Ralph’s Barbershop in Keswick eight years ago this August and estimates he’s spent upwards of $10,000 to make his barbershop safe.

“I’m doing everything the government asks me to do. And then I see malls with thousands of people in them. There’s no contact tracing, and there’s nobody taking numbers. There’s no way you can tell how many people are in there.”

Mr. Hirmann said opening a barbershop in the community where he lives was always his dream. And the thought of closing his shop for good is almost too painful to bear. But the numbers don’t lie; with no revenue coming in and expenses piling up, he may have no choice.

“I’m not confident that I can stay in business,” Mr. Hirmann said.

“I have a mortgage at home and everything else a family needs. Then I have heat, hydro, rent, phone and cable to pay at my shop. My monthly bills are $10,000 to keep the shop running. If I’m not open, how do I pay that?”

He said he’s already had to lay off one employee and reduce his expenses wherever he can. So, there’s nothing else to cut.

“People rely on me to provide a good wage and feed their families. And when I can’t do that. It makes me feel horrible,” he said.

Like many small businesses, Mr. Hirmann qualified for the Canadia Emergency Business Account (CEBA), the federal interest-free business loan. But facing another month-long closure, he’s not sure how he can pay it back.

“There’s a lot of small businesses in the same boat as me. I gotta pay back the $60,000 loan, plus my own money of $20,000 to keep the shop open. So I’m $80,000 in the hole,” he said.

While he appreciates the province offering a small business grant, he said he would have to pay that back too.

“If you read the fine print, If I pay back the $40,000 from the federal loan on time and keep the $20,000, then I have to pay back the Ontario grant because the province doesn’t allow me to keep both,” he said.

“That really upset me. I’m just trying to stay open. I’m going to be off another month, and the federal government will want their money back at the end of the year. And how do I pay for it? When I’ve spent eight months of last year off, and now we’re starting with another month this year. I can’t catch up. It’s impossible.”

Mr. Hirmann doesn’t believe that small businesses are responsible for the spread of COVID, and now they are being punished for it.

“Who in their right mind thinks a small business that has two to 10 people at a time in their business is responsible for spreading COVID? But you can have 3,000 people in the mall?”

He believes small businesses can operate safely as long as COVID-19 protocols are followed and enforced.

“I would like to see small businesses open with strict guidelines that are checked regularly by Town bylaws,” said Mr. Hirmann, who’s surprised that no one from public health ever visited his business.

“And those people that don’t abide by the guidelines, they are the ones that get charged and shut down. Why should I suffer for someone else’s mistakes?”

Mr. Hirmann, like many other small business owners, has expressed his frustration over the lockdown on social media.

His recent Facebook posts have received many likes, and comments are generally supportive of his position.

Many of his customers have called him or messaged him urging him to stay open in defiance of the lockdown, but that’s something he’s loathe to do.

But Mr. Hirmann is considering some form of public protest, although he admits that’s going to be difficult with the new stay-at-home order.

“A demonstration is going to be difficult to put together. I’ve been trying, and it’s just a lot of red tape. I don’t want to do anything illegal because I know I’ll lose clients because some people might agree with the government. So it’s a very hard line.”

“This is not about COVID in my eyes. This is not about safety protocols. It’s about small businesses being shut down. It’s unjust.”

Mike Anderson
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