'An act of desperation': Winnipeg barber offering 'yard calls' under new public health orders
A Winnipeg barber whose shop has been shuttered amid Manitoba's lockdown is getting creative in an effort to pay the bills—he is bringing his business to his customers' yards.
With Manitoba's new health orders set to take effect on the weekend, Jeremy Regan, the owner of the Hunter and Gunn Barbershop in Winnipeg, has decided to start offering 'yard calls' to clients.
"It's basically a little bit of an act of desperation," Regan told CTV News.
Regan said in the past 14 months his barbershop has been closed for close to seven months. For the months the shop was open, he said its capacity was limited.
Despite some financial assistance from the province, Regan said the bills and payments have been starting to pile up.
"I'm looking for a creative way to try and earn income so that my mortgage payment can be made, I can buy food, and just basically get by until we are open full time and hopefully rebuild the business."
While barbershops are required to remain closed in Manitoba, the new orders do allow small groups to gather outside.
Under the orders which take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, groups of five people can gather outdoors in public, and five people plus household members can visit outdoors on private property.
Regan said with the new orders he will be taking his barbershop business to people's yards—all people need to do is provide the chair.
"I'm going to bring my tools which are all electric, and my sanitizing spray, and we both are going to wear masks and I'm going to give people haircuts," Regan told CTV News Winnipeg.
He said he has received his COVID-19 vaccine, and will be taking precautions while cutting hair including full sanitization of all his tools.
In the hours since making the announcement on Twitter, Regan said he has received around 100 requests for haircuts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.