Cosmetology group says strict licensing rules for people from outside N.B. will stay

CBC

03-06-2025

The licensing authority for New Brunswick cosmetologists says it won't budge on rules that can make it difficult for hairstylists and other beauty-trade technicians elsewhere in Canada to set up shop in the province.
The tight restrictions and the fees imposed by the Cosmetology Association of New Brunswick on hairstylists, estheticians and lash technicians are exclusive to the Maritimes, as Whitney Durelle learned.
Durelle, owner of Lash Lady Studio & Cosmetics in Saint-Louis-de-Kent, was certified to provide lash and brow services in British Columbia in 2021.
She worked full time in the trade for months before she and her husband moved to New Brunswick, where she practised out of her Kent County home. Durelle was unaware she needed a licence because she hadn't needed one in B.C.
"I got reported to [the association] and that's where everything started," Durelle said.
In 2022, the association began sending notices, telling her she couldn't work in New Brunswick without a licence. Despite this, Durelle kept working.
"I had to pay the bills and feed my family."
The association sued.
According to Durelle's affidavit, she understood she would have been required to attend a 10-month program an hour from her home, with a tuition fee of more than $16,000. That was the only program available in her area that would have covered lash training.
She would have also needed to add a second bathroom to her home, which a contractor estimated would cost $7,500.
"I had to hire a lawyer," she said. "That was obviously more than I could afford, but I had to fight for what I thought was right."
A Court of King's Bench justice ordered Durelle to get a licence through the association. She was able to receive her licence by passing several exams and relocating her business to a commercial salon.
Durelle said she spent about $6,000 on lawyer fees and the cost to take her exams and receive her licence.
Instead of installing a second bathroom, Durelle opted to practise in a commercial salon, paying $400 a month in rent.
Norma Brine, president of the Cosmetology Association of New Brunswick, says the rules won't change, and the association has taken legal action against several cosmetologists to enforce them.
"If she says she spent all that money, we spent four times that," the Dieppe-based Brine said.
"But we're the bad guys, like, we stop this, we stop that, but it was just following what had to be done, and respect is what's missing."
N.B. a 'gold standard' for industry regulation
Brine said cosmetologists from other provinces who want to work in New Brunswick need to educate themselves before moving.
Cosmetologists who can prove their education can access a temporary permit while waiting to take a theory exam. A cosmetologist without proof of the required education would need to plead their case to the association board, take a theory exam and an in-person exam in Fredericton. That process can take 30 days to initiate.
Greg Robins, the executive director of the BeautyCouncil, the New Brunswick association's equivalent in B.C., said Durelle's story isn't the first he's heard of cosmetologists facing scrutiny when they move to another province.
"It's heartbreaking when we hear that," said Robins, whose organization focuses on advocacy and offering support to people in the industry,
Robins said trained cosmetologists in B.C. and most other provinces don't face licensing or annual fees.
"Anybody can practise hair, skin, nails and any other type of personal services without any formal licensing and without having to go through any regulatory processes," he said.
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are considered the "gold standard" for regulation, which comes with pros and cons, he said.
"It seems, provincially, there are a lot of differences."
Robins said where the industry is becoming more complex, with services that require blades, lasers and acids, he does think some regulation is important.
Long list of N.B. fees
In New Brunswick, cosmetologists must pay for their licence, registration fee, student enrolment fee, exam fee and certification fee for each sector of the industry they hope to practise in.
The association has seven different licences, and the price, including all fees, ranges between $280 and $440. A cosmetologist whose services fall under two separate categories, such as nails and makeup, must buy two separate licences and pay an annual fee of $80 for each.
While it may seem a costly and restrictive approach, Brine said it was designed to make it easier for cosmetologists to choose which services they want to offer, instead of having to be educated in all aspects of the trade.
"A lot of people don't want to do the full esthetic," she said.
Most other provinces require training for whichever service a cosmetologist wants to provide. That person must then complete an exam to be certified.
Robins agreed cosmetologists need to be better-informed about interprovincial differences that create barriers. He would like to see provinces working together to create an even playing field.
Asked if the association would be willing to work on a nationwide standard, Brine said the provinces would need to match New Brunswick regulations.
"If all the provinces were regulated it would not be a problem, but they need a regulative body. … We're not going to put our standard down."
Rebecca Howland, a spokesperson for the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, said the department has received complaints from cosmetologists and is working to better understand their concerns.
She said the Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Act requires regulatory bodies establish impartial and efficient application and registration processes and comply with the Canada Free Trade Agreement, which ensures recognition of credentials among Canadian jurisdictions.
She said the Holt government introduced amendments in March that would allow people coming into New Brunswick to begin working immediately during the registration process.
Barriers partly to blame for labour shortage
Misty Lyons, the owner of Mystic Lash Lounge by Crown in Fredericton, said she believes interprovincial barriers are one reason she's dealing with a labour shortage.
"There hasn't been a lack of demand for services. My issue is trying to find staff."
Lyons said qualified applicants from other provinces have struggled to obtain a licence through the association. Some left New Brunswick or abandoned their careers in the industry.
Lyons said those already working in New Brunswick struggle to stay afloat with a rising cost of living, high tuition and licensing costs. Training costs between $16,000 and $18,000 for a 10-month course in esthetics or hair styling, she said.