In what seems to be an annual ritual, the issue of store hours is again on the community?s political agenda.
The City of Greater Sudbury does not have a store-hour policy covering the entire city. Instead, there exists a hodge-podge of bylaws, which applied
to pre-amalgamation cities and towns. These bylaws go all the way from the sublime to the totally ridiculous.
For example, there are no store-hour controls in the former towns of Walden and Onaping Falls. The city of Sudbury had a multitude of regulatory provisions such as one governing barber shops. It says barber shops must be closed on Jan. 2, as well as Mondays, except in weeks when Christmas and New Year?s Day fall on a day other than Monday or Sunday, or in the week in which Good Friday falls, in which case they can be open until 9 pm.
The current situation needs to be addressed because existing bylaws, as described by the city solicitor, are archaic, confusing and unenforceable.
Since I was first elected in 1994, this is about the fifth time the store hours issue has come before council. The political conundrum facing this council is familiar, along with many of the personalities managing and directing the issue.
On one side, there are what I call the free enterprisers, a highly motivated lot, and in a few cases, highly caffeinated, who believe the marketplace should dictate store hours and government should not interfere.
On the other side are unions and the folks they drum up to support the annual cause (which supports government regulating store hours.)
I have listened to some of the more vocal proponents of change and am certain of one thing; most of them never worked a day in retail and never will.
However, that fact has not precluded them from making lofty, outlandish and self-righteous statements, or from presenting silly numbers and statistics which supposedly justify throwing out bylaws, so Greater Sudbury can be, as they say, ?like everyone else.?
As for the proponents of retaining store-hour bylaws, many haven?t allowed hard facts to get in the way of emotion, or the retelling of some favoured
union shop yarn, which, of course, supports unequivocally the evils associated with store-hour deregulation.
I see this as a classic example of the right versus the left; the free enterprisers versus big labour. In short, I see this as really becoming a debate centered, for the most part, on ideology.
I am left wondering, for example, if store-hour regulations were eliminated, would our economy boom? Will major chain stores, for example, think better of us?
Evidence does not seem to bear that out. Many have already come to town knowing that Greater Sudbury has regulated store hours.
Will, as the unions suggest, unregulated store hours suddenly spur a massive proliferation of 24-hour shopping in Sudbury?
I will just let calmer heads figure that one out for themselves.
Will more people be suddenly employed in an unregulated world, or will current retail workers be asked to spread themselves thinner? Who knows?
Will deregulation affect the small business community? Approximately 280 local businesses feel it will, and have signed letters indicating this fact.
So the big question is, do we as a community take a chance just so someone can shop for groceries or a pair of pants at midnight, or shop on Boxing Day in order to buy goods that for the most part, someone else has either rejected or picked through on Dec. 24?
My position has been one based on the concept of all or nothing. There should be a reasonable, unintrusive store-closing bylaw covering the entire community or no regulations at all.
As for my voting pattern over the years, I have been committed to the idea of putting an end to regulated store hours, and frankly, it has always been an easy choice, as the pro-regulation side could never quite convince me the sky would fall if store-hour controls were removed. But more importantly, I was never really presented with a constructive regulation option.
Everyone wants this issue resolved and soon. So why am I hedging and undecided this time?
I sense a real difference in the mood from both proponents for deregulation and regulated store hours. I not only see, but feel this time, fear that exists among hard working retail workers, particularly those working in the grocery business. Their concerns are palatable. They are telling me their world is changing.
As an elected councillor and a member of my community, I need to be understanding, sympathetic and receptive to these fears.
At the very least, their feelings should override any desire I might possess for allowing unregulated store hours.
At the last council meeting, a committee of four councillors was struck to devise something we hope everyone can live with. I sense that they will be successful.
They intend to use reason and common sense, and will be exercising the art of compromise during their deliberations. This should result in solutions that will break down silos of entrenchment and resolve this contentious issue once and for all.
Councillor Ted Callaghan represents Ward 4.
Editor?s note: Council will discuss the issue July 13.
