Weekly Poll: Holiday Shopping Restrictions

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Or is it? Today is a public holiday, which means that a majority of us were able to sleep in rather than fight through rush hour en route to the office.  As well, schools are not open, waste collection is deferred by a day, and of course, the lights in most stores will remain dark for the day.  Now, I’m not one to complain about having time off, but the biggest downside of public holidays is the fact that my favorite stores: grocery, liquor, beer and otherwise are usually closed.  Admittedly, a big part of that dilemma is my inability to plan well enough in advance, but you can’t foresee everything, and sometimes those mid-morning brunch pangs really hit unexpectedly on the holidays.  According, this week’s poll asks:

Growing up, I can still remember when practically every retailer, mall and merchant was closed on Sundays.  There were many exceptions to the Sunday Shopping rules of course, as gas stations, convenience store and the like were still permitted to make a buck on the holy day.  This all changed in Ontario in the early 1990′s, however a variety of restrictions remain in place to this day in provinces such as BC, PEI and Quebec.  During the debate to approve Sunday Shopping, a great deal of the conversation centred on why stores were closed in the first place, as well as potential problems regarding compelling employees to work on their day of rest.  As was the case back in the early nineties, perhaps it’s time to reconsider parts or the entire shape of the Retails Business Holiday’s Act to realign the changing needs of businesses, employees and consumers?

What are your thoughts on the Retail Business Holiday Act?  Is this piece of legislation still relevant today and should it continue to be enforced by sizable fines, or is it high time to reconsider the notion of holiday shopping in Ontario?

Thanks to Nick Papakyriazis for today’s photo.