Our neighbours just to the South on Tuesday saw state senate narrowly approve the removal of “Sunday closing,” which restricts retail businesses in North Dakota to opening after noon on Sundays. With the change, spoke to in more detail at this link, it’s expected that businesses in the state will be able to set their own Sunday hours beginning on August 1. The restrictions in place have been said to be the toughest in the USA.
In Manitoba we of course currently restrict retailers with more than four employees to hours of 9am-6pm on Sunday provided a municipality has passed a bylaw allowing those hours. Saskatchewan and Alberta to the West have no such restriction.
I couldn’t say whether or not our Provincial government has to motivation or stomach to revisit such a divisive issue and gauge whether there’s any wider need or appetite for further change. I do however feel that in terms of online chatter there’s value in exploring the new reality of another bordering territory moving toward all-hours Sunday shopping and at what point there may be an impact on competitiveness of businesses on our side of the border.
Whenever the topic of restricting Sunday hours has come up in eBrandon discussion it’s been common for supporters of restrictions to point out value in forced closure and the time it creates for families. The other side of the debate will ask why Sunday specifically needs to be seen as different from any other day on the weekly calendar.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?
Feel you should be able to do your grocery run on a Sunday night?
Wherever you stand, you can have your say in the attached discussion thread.
Photo and poor photoshopping credit: me ;)