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Last month, for Quebec’s June 24 holiday, Gatineau hairdresser Sylvie Rose intended to set up a small kiosk to promote her employer, Studio Hullywood, to revellers.

Of course, Ms. Rose operates in Outaouais, the only part of Canada in which every aspect of hairdressing — from minimum prices to opening hours — remains strictly controlled by a government-mandated committee.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or In Quebec's Outaouais region, a 1930s-era decree lets a committee decide when hairdressers can cut your hair Back to video

If Ms. Rose set up a table at Gatineau’s municipal celebrations during a mandatory holiday, the Joint Committee of Outaouais Hairdressers told her, she would face fines of more than $1,500.

“That committee is just there to make money for themselves … we need to hitch up our pants and fight them,” said Ms. Rose, one of a vocal chorus of hairdressers looking to abolish the 1930s-era legislation keeping the committee in power.

Currently, by government decree all Outaouais hairdressers must close on Sundays, work only from 8:30 to five on Saturdays and are forbidden from working evenings on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.