Hamilton tattoo parlour refuses to close during third wave of COVID-19

A Hamilton tattoo parlour on the Mountain has shrugged offlockdown measures and hasn'tstopped operating despite being under investigation and facing bylaw charges.

This comes despite a third spike of COVID-19 cases, and repeated warnings from public health officials for people tostay physically distanced, wear masks and only shop for the essentials in orderto prevent the spread of the virus.

Kryptonian Ink on Concession Street has faced three charges under the Ontario Reopening Act. On April 21, they faced charges for operating the business when not permitted and obstructing the investigation. Two days later, they were charged again for continuing to operate the business.

The business issupposed to be temporarily closed because of the current provincial pandemicmeasures, but its ownershave refused to close shop.

The city says if the owners doesn't comply, they may face harsher measures.

"You've seen this in the past with restaurantswhere their liquor licence has been withdrawn for a week in order to reinforce what's happening,"Paul Johnson, the director of the city's emergency operations centre, said.

Confrontations with bylaw officers

"Not only multiple infractions, but a very public statement by this business that they are not going to close, that they feel they're just going to stay open. So rest assured, we're investigating this through bylaw and if they feel additional actions are required in order to build compliance with the rules, they will do so."

Fines under the Ontario Reopening Actrange between $750 to $1,000.

In a Facebook video uploaded Monday afternoon,Kryptonian Ink's owner Stephen Stacey calledbylaw officers standing outside his shop "mall cops" andsaid they had no authority over him.

He thengavethem the middle finger and walked back in his parlour, with the video showing someone else in the building unmasked.The front door is plastered with papers, including one from a prominent COVID-denying group.

The bylaw officer in the video tellsStacey he has paperwork for him.

Business owner says he can't afford to stay closed

In an interview on Wednesday, Stacey declined to comment on the video.

He acknowledged he's concerned staying open could lead to a COVID-19 outbreak, and that getting tattooed during the pandemic isn'tessential, but saidhe can't afford to close.

Stacey also said he's tried to comply over the past yearbut couldn't keep it up, especially withbig box stores stayingopen.

"If the government wants to pay everything I have, all my overhead, all my rent, hydro and everything, sure, I'm happy to try," he said."But we need more."

Johnson said the city won't back down when business owners don't follow the rules.

"Almost all of our businesses are painfully ... complying because this has such a huge impact onbusiness and so we will not let businesses simply say 'we're going to stay open.' "