Toronto hair stylist says she earned just a third of her salary in the past year including CERB

A Toronto hair stylist is speaking out about what it's been like to work for just 146 days out of the past year and the toll the lack of work has taken, revealing in an Instagram video this week that she earned just one third of her regular annual salary in the past 365 days — including CERB.

"In Toronto, our first lockdown lasted 106 days. When we were finally allowed to return to work, we worked for 146 days," says Melissa, a stylist who works at Fox & Jane, in an Instagram video that's been viewed more than 1,000 times. 

"Then we were put into a second lockdown, which, as of March 14, will have lasted 114 days. Calculating how much I earned during the 21 weeks I was able to work as well as what I received through CERB, I earned one third of my regular pay over the last 365 days."

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A post shared by Melissa - Fox and Jane TO (@jynxdoeshair)

The stylist says she believes there is a way for hair salons to open safely and effectively throughout Toronto and the entire GTA while maintaining the necessary protocols and preventing transmission, and she says it's up to the province to find a way to make that happen now.

"Provincial government, we need a regulatory body that goes to all businesses in all sectors and confirms that they are abiding by COVID regulations and standards," she says in the video. 

"Other provinces have done this, states in the U.S. have done this. It's successful. The data is there."

Melissa's video has received support from other hair stylists in Toronto who presumably feel the same, and owner of Fox & Jane Kristin Rankin commented on the post saying, "We need to OPEN!"

While Toronto did move out of the province-wide shutdown at the beginning of this week and into the COVID-19 response framework, the city remains in the strict grey zone and salons are required to remain closed. 

It is possible that Toronto could eventually move into the red zone, a stage in which salons are permitted to operate, but the earliest this could happen is March 22. 

Still, Melissa is hoping her message will be heard.

"We need to open. There's nothing more to say," she says in the clip. "We contribute a lot to the economy, but also, people's personal and mental wellness. We're important."