In 1998, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities grouped all trades related to hairstyling -including barbers - under the trade name of hairstylist. But the change to ministry documents and certificates of qualification didn't happen until earlier this year, and many barbers have operated without licenses because they were rarely if ever enforced. Now, operating without a license costs employees a $195 fine and employers a $295 fine for first offenses. To get a license, barbers have to learn the new combined curriculum for hairstylists, including perms, coloring and more.
Sam Lou said he's been cutting men's hair for 15 years and opened his own shop last month. The Ontario College of Trades enforcement officers found him without a license and asked him to shut down. "I'm very angry. ... I feel like nobody supports me. The government wants people to be successful, open up a business and make a job, create jobs. I created a job, they came and shut it down," Lou said, adding that he's lost about $6,000.
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