PE: Premier defends Sunday shopping limits

[CHARLOTTETOWN, PE] — Islanders may have decided with their wallets that they want Sunday shopping but Premier Robert Ghiz says he’ll wait to see if the province gets hit in the pocket before reviewing the Island’s Sunday shopping laws.

The parking lots of many of the Island’s major retailers are packed on Sundays but that’s about to come to an end. This Sunday, December 20, will be the last day for Sunday shopping until May. Under the Retail Business Holidays Act, Sunday shopping is not permitted December 25 through to Victoria Day in May.

In The Guardian’s annual year-end interview, Ghiz defends his government’s decision to limit Sunday shopping in the province.

“What we’re going to do is we’re going to look at the revenue that we receive from taxes, based on the months that Sunday shopping is open, and when it’s not open,” said Ghiz. “If we discover that there are people that when it’s not available are traveling to Moncton and we’re losing out on dollars leaving our province we’ll re-look at it. But for now, this seems to be a good compromise down the middle.”

The premier said he doesn’t have a problem with government dictating when private businesses can open their doors.

“Government has a role in how much a private business is taxed, government has a role to play in terms of the standards that they have to provide to their employees, so absolutely,” he said. “If you want to live in a society where the private sector or anybody can go out and do what they want, I guess you’re entitled to do that.”

So shoppers hoping to spend those holiday gift cards or find a bargain at one of the big box stores on December 27 are out of luck. They’ll have to shop online, or take a trip across the Confederation Bridge to Moncton where the stores are open on Sunday year-round.

Islanders appear overwhelmingly in favour of Sunday shopping, based on the responses The Guardian has received on its website. In the Reader Feedback web poll, 75 per cent of the 150 people who took part in the poll after only a couple of hours on line were in favour of Sunday shopping. More than 50 people posted comments, the majority of which were in favour of Sunday shopping.

Matt from P.E.I. wrote: “Please, please, please Sobeys and Superstore. Do what you did in Nova Scotia. Take the Prince Edward Island government to court and fight this foolish Sunday shopping closure.

“The people of Prince Edward Island deserve to have Sunday shopping year-round. It’s a legal right. If Premier Robert Ghiz is not prepared to come into the year 2010, let’s drag him there through the courts.”

The Nova Scotia government dropped its ban on Sunday shopping after losing a legal battle in the Supreme Court against the big grocery retailers.

But others, particular those who work in retail, had concerns about year-round Sunday shopping.

“Speaking from someone that worked in retail, Sunday shopping sucks,” writes Sara Hennessey from Charlottetown. “Forget the religious side of it. Think of the students that go to school Monday through Friday, usually working a night or two during the week and Saturdays. They are then forced to work Sundays too. Do they not deserve a day off? I have done it, retail is a thankless job. No matter how much you try and help some people it will never be enough.”

There are retailers that are permitted, under the act, to remain open seven days a week. These include gas stations, drug stores, laundromats, restaurants, recreational facilities, video stores, bakeries and flower stores. Businesses that open in contravention of the act can be fined up to $10,000.

With files from Transcontinental Media