A Fredericton barbershop owner who was fined for staying open when ordered to shut down under the Emergency Measures Act in January has had his day in court.
Chad McGarity said he respected the orders to close his business three times in 2020 and 2021, and invested in masks, sanitizer, plexiglas and other safeguards.
But when another spike of COVID-19 cases in January had Premier Blaine Higgs ordering gyms, salons and entertainment centres to close once again — he had had enough.
“It was a hard decision to make. But we had to do it,” he said in an interview Wednesday.
He chose to defy the order and stayed open. So did a number of other salons, arguing it didn’t make sense for salons and barbers to shut down while other businesses with fewer COVID-19 controls could stay open.
McGarity said he had staff who needed to continue getting paid, including one with a baby on the way.
He says he was visited by a peace officer several times, and officially fined twice, totaling $1,160. He never paid the fines, and on Tuesday, McGarity found himself in court, representing himself.
“They asked me if I wanted to change my plea to guilty and just pay the fines, and there was a comment where they could increase the fines up to $60,400 and I said, ‘Well, I'm here now. Let's do it,’” he said.
“So we went through with it. And one of my comments during my statement was, 'I hope there's a little bit of common sense that can be spread around this room, so we can all come together and find a resolution.'"
He argued the peace officers, court staff and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs were able to continue working during that time, and bring in a paycheque.
McGarity said the judge sympathized and dismissed the fines. A court clerk confirmed to CTV Atlantic the case is considered closed, and that McGarity wasn’t required to pay any fines.
The Department of Justice and Public Safety said any tickets issued under the Emergency Measures Act remain valid.
“Each ticket represents a charge for an offence that existed at the time the ticket was issued under the authority of the Emergency Measures Act,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“In the case of every charge, the court determines the outcome of the charge based on the evidence and law before the court. As with any charge before the courts, when the outcome is not one that was anticipated, the Public Prosecution Services reviews the case and decides the likelihood an appeal court would find that an error of law has been made by the trial court.”
McGarity says it was about standing up for his small business, something that earned him a phone call from the premier himself last month.
“I thought it was a joke. I thought some of my friends were joking around about it but it was him and we did get into a deeper conversation,” he said. “I said, 'What is your thoughts?' and he said ‘I should have came down when you were supposed to be closed.’ It was a respectful phone call. And he did say, he saw the lineups out the door.”
