Encouraging words on holiday closing law

Opinion

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This article was published 07/07/2019 (1901 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The campaign hasn’t officially begun, but Premier Brian Pallister has already tucked a juicy item into his provincial election basket.

Mr. Pallister said last Thursday his government is looking at allowing municipalities to control whether food stores and other retail outlets can open on statutory holidays.

“In my view, this would be a decision best made by municipalities in their areas of jurisdiction,” the premier told reporters.

Such a move, if approved, would bring Manitoba in line with most other provinces, where store closings on statutory holidays are decisions typically left up to local authorities.

It’s a political bone of contention that could make for some meaty debate in the run-up to the Sept. 10 provincial election. Any change to holiday shopping rules would require a legislative amendment, and the legislature is not scheduled to sit until after the election.

The issue of which stores are allowed to remain open on holidays has been pushed onto the menu by independent city grocer Munther Zeid, whose five modestly sized, neighbourhood-based Food Fare outlets have openly defied Manitoba’s Retail Businesses Holiday Closing Act.

Food Fare received a summons to appear in court after opening on Good Friday this year, and it expects to be penalized again for opening on Canada Day. Mr. Zeid has been engaged in a public battle with the government to change the law, which he calls blatantly unfair because it orders him to shutter his locations while allowing casinos, cannabis shops, beer stores and pharmacies to remain open.

It is especially galling to the independent grocer that pharmacies such as Shoppers Drug Mart — which feature aisles well stocked with groceries — are exempt from the legislation, which forces most Manitoba stores with more than four employees to close on most holidays.

Mr. Pallister has indicated he is sympathetic to Food Fare’s stance that the law is outdated, unfair and inconsistent. “You know my respect for small business people… but it’s the law. So we’ll have to take a look at changing the law, right? And that’s underway. That discussion is happening.”

Mr. Zeid argues public opinion is on his side, which is supported by the thousands of signatures from shoppers on his online and in-store petitions. “Some people came out (on Canada Day) just to buy something to show their support,” he told the Free Press.

It’s clear no one wants to move backward in time and force stores such as Shoppers Drug Mart to close on holidays.

Mr. Zeid has promised to go to court if the province is unwilling to change the law, but now it seems that might not be necessary.

The time has clearly come to move forward and unshackle Manitoba’s retail sector from an archaic piece of legislation that is no longer relevant to the way Canadians live and shop.

Stores can decide for themselves whether they want to open on statutory holidays, and an amended law can ensure employees retain the right to refuse to work on holidays, and are compensated properly if they do work.

In Mr. Zeid’s case, he simply posts a sign-up sheet asking his employees to indicate if they are available to work on a particular holiday.

In the coming election campaign, all of Manitoba’s political parties would be wise to get on board with loosening the outdated rules, because along with weed and beer and prescription drugs, shoppers in this province deserve the right to legally buy a hotdog on a holiday.