I wrote some time back that if a political party wanted to stand out from the crowd that they should let Manitoba shopkeeper set their own Sunday shopping laws.
The Free Press reports today that the NDP and Progressive Conservatives will not change the Sunday shopping laws to what everyone else has in the region around us.
The only party to stand for allowing what everyone else has is the Manitoba Liberals.
For some consumers and retailers this should stand as a major reason to vote Liberal in the provincial election.
It's no use saying that nothing changes in Manitoba if your vote consistently goes to parties that only want the status quo.
6 comments:
Personally, I'm pretty content with the status quo. Even in full-on Sunday shopping jurisdictions, malls and major retailers are typically open from 10-6 or 11-6, so we're only talking about a marginal change in reality.
I think the Tories and NDP have a pretty good read on the public mood relating to this issue. I don't get the sense that people are really clamoring for an extra hour or two of Sunday shopping.
Bottom line tough is that the other provinces let the retailers set the times that work for them.
As for a clamour, it is pretty clear that many shoppers are lined up before noon and would likely shop earlier if they could.
We should not be the only province with a law in this matter. I can remember the complaints about open Sunday shopping in the beginning. The argument was that there was no need or that it would steal shoppers from other times. This was all shown to be inaccurate.
In any event, if the issue is important enough, there is only one party willing to vote to remove the law.
For people looking at issues that distinguish the parties, this will be a fairly clear distinction.
The Liberals need to carve out every little difference they can from the main two parties, so I like this idea. I lean PC, but my party will never endorse this cause the rural relgious membership would freak out.
Now...if you want me to sign up for a Liberal membership, let's see a party finally come out for getting ride of the MLCC.
That's a vote switching policy for me.
I find it odd that on Saturdays, most malls appear to close at 6pm anyways.
I mean, everyone can be appeased if they allow stores to open past Sunday hours, but force some sort of time and a half pay on those hours beyond 11-6 (Because you know the average wal-mart employee doesn't REALLY have a choice in the matter)
A change in Sunday shopping laws can't come soon enough. It is not the 1950's anymore.
I'm concerned about the social impact that it may have. Speaking for my own household, I work 6 days a week, and my wife works retail. Sunday is the only day that she and I can spend and enjoy a morning together. Now, she and I have no children, but, if we did, I would think that this would negatively impact the children as well. It is well documented that many troubled youths come from impoverished unstructured homes. This may remove what little structure there is left in these homes.
On the other hand, how can you justify closing stores at 6 and you can still buy beer until midnight? This is just another step backwards for society in my opinion.
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