Ralph Klein's niece opens her barbershop in defiance of Kenney's lockdown

By Sheila Gunn Reid
|
January 13, 2021

Fight The Fines

Reporting on and fighting the pandemic fines.

By David Menzies

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Bladez 2 Fadez, a barbershop in central Alberta, first opened its doors in August 2020. It's a tough economy to open any small business, but especially now, during a time of ever-evolving pandemic restrictions on retail and services.

Bladez 2 Fadez was, until yesterday, a recently closed barber shop. Premier Jason Kenney made a mid-December decision to ban all personal care services, including hair and nail salons as well as barbershops, as part of his latest swath of COVID-19 restrictions on business.

However, Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m, Bladez 2 Fadez owner Natalie Klein served her first client in a month. Klein, despite the looming threat of fines, is opening her doors to the public. If that last name sounds familiar to you, it should. Klein is the niece of late, great Progressive Conservative Alberta Premier Ralph Klein.

I was on hand to talk with Natalie, her first customers and the locals from Innisfail and its surrounding communities — including Glen Carritt and Haley Wile of United We Roll, and Tracy Walker — a Red Deer salon owner who came to us at Rebel News' IWillOpen.com with her own story of lockdown defiance.

Natalie told me that people have a right to support their families, and she knows she can work safely in her shop.

I promised Klein that if she received a ticket for her act of survival and civil disobedience, Rebel News would help her fight it at FightTheFines.com.

The day ended with no fines issued, but with intense pressure from Facebook tattletales, Natalie expects one to come soon.

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